WimmMmmmB
riP
^KrL
' (
k^nh
M
' i
i
'a
tj^iWl
w:
B'^l?)1hi.
HISTORY
OF THE
UNITED STATES,
FROM THE
DISCOVERY OF THE AMERICAN CONTINENT.
BY
GEOKGE BANCROFT.
Vol. IX.
BOSTON:
LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.
1875.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by
GEORGE BANCROFT,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern
District of New York.
Cambridge :
Press of yohn Wilson atid Son,
THE
AMERICAN REYOLUTION.
BY
GEORGE BANCROFT.
Vol. III.
FIFTH EDITION.
BOSTON:
LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.
1875.
Entered according to Act *f Congress, in the year 1866, by
GKORGE BANCROFT,
In &e Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern
District of New York.
Cambridge :
Press-work by John WUson and Son.
PREFACE.
One volume more will complete the American
revolution, including the negotiations for peace in
1782. For that volume the materials are collected
and arranged, and it will be completed and pub-
lished without any unnecessary delay. A single
document only, but that a very important one, had
been wanting ; on my request for it through my
friend John Bigelow, our minister at Paris, copies
of it were ordered for me with the utmost courtesy
and promptness by M. Drouyn de Lhuys. That
volume will bring into the field in direct action
Spain, France, and Great Britain, as well as the
United States. I shall endeavor to treat them all
with equal impartiality, and I do not doubt of
finding a corresponding disposition in my country-
men. I hope to present in a just aspect those
who rendered great services to the country, un-
mindful of any personal differences which may have
grown up among them. Especially the documents
respecting the preliminaries of peace of which I
2 PREFACE.
have acquired copies are so complete that I trust
I may be able to disentangle the confusion which
has grown out of judgments founded upon rumor
and imperfect materials, and to set down with ex-
actness the respective parts of all who were em-
ployed in the pacification, without impairing the
merits of any one.
In addition to very full collections relating to
the war in the United States from the archives of
England and of France, I have been most success-
ful in obtaining masses of papers from Germany.
In the time of the late king of Prussia I received
permission to examine the archive-s of the depart-
ment of foreign affairs at Berlin. I was unable to
go there in person; but with the hearty coopera-
tion of my friend Joseph A. Wright, our minister,
I have yet obtained from that metropolis most im-
portant assistance, for which I am specially indebted
to the prompt and efficient directions of Lieuten-
ant-General von Moltke, the chief of the Prussian
staff, the same who, by his part in the plan and
execution of the last Prussian campaign in Bohe-
mia, has taken his place among the world's greatest
captains. The reports and letters sent over for the
information of the Duke of Brunswick came dur-
ing the period of revolution to be placed among
the military archives of Prussia. Of all these
which were of any historical value exact copies
were made for me, including charts and plans of
battles and military works. These papers are of
inestimable importance, especially for the study of
military operations in 1777. A very large collec-
tion of journals and correspondence had been made
PREFACE. 3
«
by Colonel Max von Eelking, author of a ^^ Life of
General Riedesel," and of a history of " German
Auxiliary Troops in the American War of Libera-
tion." This entire collection he was so good as
to allow me to secure. It had been made with
rare opportunities, and includes letters of Burgoyne
and voluminous autographs of Riedesel.
The archives of Hesse -Cassel have not as yet
been laid open to the public ; but I have gained
through private sources interesting and instructive
journals and reports of Hessian officers. It was
also my good fortune to obtain for a correspondent
a colonel of the Prussian staff, an officer of high
military attainments and superior knowledge, who
at the same time has the merit of eminent literary
culture and familiarity with historic investigations.
Through him a general and persevering search was
made in the public libraries for all German works
which contain anything on our war, and especially
for the miscellaneous articles scattered through
journals and magazines from the days of the rev-
olution till now ; and where the originals could
not be purchased, copies were made for me of
all which was found. In this way I possess the
criticisms of German officers who served in America,
and an exhaustive body of materials, such as has
very rarely, if ever, been brought together on a
historical subject of a like nature. My object in
seeking so full a collection of military papers w^as
to insure a correct comprehension of military events
by comparing the narratives, opinions, and judg-
ments of distinguished critics educated as soldiers.
The special value of these German documents con-
4 PREFACE.
*
sists in this: that they are in the main the most
impartial of all which have been preserved.
For further securitj against error while my pages
were passing into type, it was my custom occasion-
ally to submit proofs to the trained scrutiny and
special erudition of my friend the late Jared
Sparks. In addition to these precautions, some of
the ablest officers of our army have given me the
benefit of their views on such military questions
as I proposed to them. But w^hile I have spared
no pains to gain assistance, I am alone responsible
for what I have written.
With regard to the diplomatic relations of the
several European powers interested in our strug-
gle, my collections leave nothing to be desired.
In addition to those which I had formerly obtained
in Europe, and of which I have heretofore given
some account, I received, through the courtesy of
the Spanish government and the kind attention of
Don Pascual de Gayangos, very valuable documents
from the Spanish archives. The papers taken col-
lectively enable me to state with certainty the rela-
tions of the English and French and Spanish min-
isters and kings towards our revolution, as well as
of other powers, especially the German powers,
Holland, and Russia, even to the shades of differ-
ence in opinion and the varying counsels and pol-
icy of the sovereigns and their cabinets.
I am aware that this volume is more minute in
the narration of some events than a proper sym-
metry would permit. But the years to which it
relates are the most important of the war in more
aspects than one. It was in the last months of
PREFACE. 5
1777 that the spirit of separatism was at its top-
most flood, never again to rise so high ; it was out
of the principles of this period that the articles of
confederation took their character; its events de-
termined the alliance of France, and its vicissitudes
most clearly display the character of Washington.
Washington was not satisfied with any history of
the revolution which appeared during his life. He
kept his papers with the utmost care, building a fire-
proof apartment for their security, evidently think-
ing, that, though a history of his services had not
been adequately written, one day careful inquirers,
with the aid of his correspondence, would rise up
to do him justice. The labors of Marshall and of
Sparks prove that his confidence was well founded.
No one has more carefully described his part in
the campaign of 1777 than Marshall; and yet that
biographer did not say all that may with truth be
said of the greatness of Washington during that
year. He failed, for example, fully to point out
the effect of the advice and disinterestedness of
the commander-in-chief on the success of the north-
ern army.
I have done what I could to learn the truth and
to state it clearly ; to the judgment of the candid
and the well-informed I shall listen with deference.
This contribution to the history of the country I
lay reverently on the altar of freedom and union.
New York, September 24, 1866.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES. July, 1776.
Effects of the declaration of independence, 31 — The hope of the new
nation, 31 — Declaration of Maryland, 32 — Independence in Philadel-
phia, 32 — In New Jersey, 82 — Convention of New York, 33 — Con-
dition of the state, 33 — New York adopts independence, 34 — Indepen-
dence proclaimed to the army, 34 — Statue of the king thrown down in
New York, 35 — Progress of the war in Virginia, 35 — Dunniore driven
from land, 35 — Flight of the Virginia refugees, 36 — Independence pro-
claimed in Virginia, 36 — In Rhode Island, 36 — In Massachusetts, 36 —
In South Carolina, 36 — Independence the act of the people, 37 — Its
aspect on the nations of Europe, 37 — Character of Lord Howe, 37 —
His confidence of the restoration of peace, 38 — Lord Howe arrives at
Stafen Island, 38 — His declaration, 38 — His attempts at intercourse
with Washington, 39 — He meets with a rebuff, 39 — His circular let-
ters, 39 — His letters to individuals, 39 — Reed on the overture, 40 —
Condition of America, 40 — Greene despondent, 40 — Decision of
Samuel Adams, 40 — Of Robert Morris, 41 — Of congress, 41 — Of
Washington, 41 — Lord Howe to Franklin, 42 — Franklin's answer, 42
— Retaining a trade no ground for a war, 43 — Disappointment of Lord
Howe, 44.
CHAPTER H.
CONFEDERATION ; SIGNING THE DECLARATION. July — AugUSt 2,
1776.
An exchange of prisoners proposed by Washington, 45 — Agreed to by
Howe, 46 — Confederation, 46 — Draught of Dickinson, 46 — Dickinson's
despondency, 47 — Confederation opposed by separatism, 47 — The sev-
8 COXTENTS.
eral states impatient of power, 47 — Effects of contests with the crown,
48 — No central power of taxation, 48 — The states jealous of the power
in a confederacy as in the crown, 49 — Franklin's plan contrasted with
Dickinson's, 49 — No executive, no judiciary, 50 — South Carolina still
jealous, 50 — Cavils of Edward Rutledge, 51 — Rule for the apportion-
ment of supplies, 51 — Chase moves to count only white inhabitants, 51
— Debate on the question, 62 — Chase's amendment rejected, 52 — The
vote geogi^aphical, 52 — Delaware insists on a vote for each colony, 53 —
Opinions of Franklin, Witherspoon, John Adams, 53 — Of Rush, Hop-
kins, 64 — Jefferson's compromise proposed by Sherman, 55 — The claim
of Virginia, 56 — Why confederation was delayed, 56 — Congress tired
of the subject, 57 — The war and government, 57 — Connei^ticut sends
regiments of light-horse, 57 — Their discharge, 58 — Conflict amongst
the officers in the army, 58 — Gates claims coordinate power with Wash-
ington, 58 — Public spirit of Washington, 59 — Signing the declaration,
59 — Independence the work of the people, 60.
CHAPTER III.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IN EUROPE. July — October,
1776.
The maritime powers dread England, 61 — Opinion of Vergennes, CI
— Arrival of Silas Deane, 62 — He confides in Edward Bancroft, 62 —
France opens its ports to American commerce, 63 — Interview of Deane
with Vergennes, 63 — Two hundred field-pieces promised, 63 — Beau-
marohais offers credit, 64 — Treachery of Edward Bancroft, 64 — The
king of France and his cabinet, 64 — Vergennes on Enorjand as the nat-
ural enemy of France, 64 — And of Spain, 65 — Danger from England to
France and Spain, 65 — Advantages of a war with England, 66 — Rela-
tions between France and America, 67 — Probable neutrality of other
European powers, 67 — Position of the king of France, 68 — Danger from
a preference of peace, 68 — Effect of this advice on Louis the Sixteenth,
69 — Partisans of America, 69 — Marquis de Lafayette, 70 — Volunteers
and adventurers, 70 — Views of Spain, 71 — Spanish harbors open to
American privateers, 71 — Spain opposed to American independence, 71
— Parties in England, 71 — The government majority, 71 — The reflec-
tive judgment of England, 72 — Power to tax the colonies given up, 72 —
Power of parliament over charters not abdicated, 73 — United States not
to be conquered, 73 — Advice of Tucker, 74 — Of Hume, 74 — Opinion
of Gibbon, 74 — Of Germain, 74 — The English despise France as a
naval power, 74 — Subserviency of an English politician, 75 — Anxiety ot
George the I'hird, 75
CONTENTS. 9
CHAPTER IV.
BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. August, 1776.
The city of New York to be defended, 76 — Opinion of Jay, 76 —
Outposts of New York, 77 — Condition of the American army, 77 —
Opinion of John Adams, 77 — Relations of congress to Gates and Wash-
ington, 78 — Council of war inefficient, 79 — Governor of Connecticut,
79 — Rising of Connecticut, 80 — Inhabitants of New York, 80 — Gen-
eral orders, 80 — Fort Washington on the Hudson, 81 — Defences of New
York city, 81 — The lines in Brooklyn, 82 — Ilowe receives reenforce-
ments, 82 — Lord Howe's proposal, 82 — Illness of Greene, 83 — British
land on Long Island, 83 — Consternation in New York, 84 — Advance of
the British, 84 — American skirmishers, 84 — Putnam on Long Island, 85
— Number of the British on Long Island, 85 — The American force, 86
— Their stations, 86 — Plan of attack by Howe, 87 — Putnam's orders,
88 — Position of Stirling, 88 — Putnam's incapacity, 89 — The British
squadron attempts to move, 89 — The British gain the Jamaica pass, 90
— The battle of skirmishes, 90 — The Hessians move up the ridge, 91
— Their success, 91 — Sullivan taken prisoner, 92 — Lord Howe sends
aid, 92 — Heroic conduct of Stirling and his party, 93 — Stirling sur-
renders, 94 — Howe refuses to assault the lines, 94 — Loss of the British,
95 — Loss of the Americans, 95 — Causes of the result, 95 — Character
of the victory, 96.
CHAPTER V.
THE RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND. AugUSt 27 — 30, 1776.
Condition of the American army, 97 — Its confidence in Washington,
98 — His steady attention, 98 — Number of his troops, 98 — Their suf-
ferings, 98 — Character of General Howe, 99 — Delancey and Woodhull,
100 — Approaches of the British army, 101 — Necessity of a retreat,
101 — Measures for a retreat, 101 — A council of war, 102 — Skilful
measures, 103 — Blunder of Mifflin, 104 — Remedied by Washington, 104
— The sea-fog, 104 — The British enter the American works, 104 — The
retreat successful, 105 — Erroneous account of the retreat, 105 — The
errors corrected, 106 — The retreat Washington's own measure, 107.
CHAPTER VI.
THE PROGRESS OF THE HOWES. August 30 — September 15, 1776.
Sullivan Lord Howe's volunteer go-between, 108 — Conduct of General
Ilowe, 109 — Washington represents to congress the condition of his army,
10 CONTENTS.
109 — The city of New York must be abandoned, 110 — SulHvan*s recep-
tion in connrress, 110 — He mistakes Lord Howe's offers, 111 — Congress
wishes New York city defended, 111 — The debate on Lord Howe's mes-
sage, 112 — Resolve in answer to Lord Howe, 112 — Committee appointed
to meet Lord Howe, 112 — Difference of opinion between congress and
Washington on holding New York, 113 — His council side with congress,
113 — Lee expected, 113 — Washington adheres to his opinion that New
York must be evacuated, 114 — His plea to congress, 114 — He explains
why New York city cannot be held, 115 — Congress yields, 115 — Inter-
view between Lord Howe and the committee of congress, 116 — Lord Howe
disavows Sullivan, 117 — Franklin's proposal, 117 — Report of the com-
mittee, 117 — Opinion of the governor of Connecticut, 117 — General
Howe prepares to land in New York, 118 — Washington fired upon. 118
— Washington removes his stores and artillery, 119 — Landing of the
British on New York island, 119 — Flight of the Americans, 119 — Wash-
ingtorj's example of courage, 120 — Escape of Putnam's division, 120 —
Patriotic conduct of Mary Lindley, 121 — Results of the day, 121 —
Washington's conduct on the day, 122 — Character of Gordon as an his-
torian, 123 — Accounts of Ramsay, Heath, and Graydon, 124.
CHAPTER VII.
THE EMBARRASSMENTS OF AMERICA. September 15 — 30, 1776.
Talbot and the fire-brig, 125 — Skirmishes near Manhattan ville, 126 —
Effect of the skirmish, 127 — Death of Knowlton and Leitch, 128 —
Strength of the American position, 128 —Declaration of the Howes as
commanders, 128— Great fire in New York city, 129 — Nathan Hale,
his death and character, 130 — Death of Henly, 131 — Arrival of the
prisoners from Quebec, 131 — Merits of Morgan, 131 — Confederation
delayed, 131 — Plan of a treaty with France, 132 — The fisheries, 132 —
Commissioners to France, 133 — Franklin and Deane, 133 — Jefferson
declines, 133 — Arthur Lee appointed, 133 — The American navy, 134 —
American privateers, 134 — Army regulations adopted, 135 — Condition
of the army, 135 — Measures of congress, 136 — Washington on the use of
aiilitia, 137 — Need of a permanent army, 137 — His expostulations neg-
lected by congress, 138 — Washington's trust in the people, 138.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE COURSE OF OPINION IN ENGLAND. September 28 — November,
1776.
Spirit of England, 140 — Germain compliments the Howes, 140 —
Fox supports the Americans, 141 — Rockingham party keeps aloof, 141 —
CONTENTS. 11
Tlie declaration of independence unites Eiiprland, 141 — Speech of Cav-
endish, 142— Of Johnstone, 142 — Of Wilkes, 142 — Of Lord North,
142 — Of Barre, 142 — Of Germain, 143 — Of Fox, 143 — Fox for in-
dependence, 144 — Fox applauded by Gibbon and Burke, 144 — Unsat-
isfactory letters from Howe, 144 — His exorbitant demands, 145 — Gei>
main shirks blame, 145 — Proposal of Cavendish, 145 — Perplexity of
Lord North, 145 — Speech of Fox, 146 — Of Wedderburn, 146 — Se-
cession of Burke, 146 — Fox disapproves secession, 146 — Character of
Fox, 146 — His licentiousness, 147 — His love of poetry, 147 — His dis-
like of science, 147 — His manner, 148 — Character of his speeches, 148
— His skill in attack, 149 — Fox not a great man, 149 — His failure as
an historian, 149 — His want of fixed principles, 150.
CHAPTER IX.
THE BORDER WAR IN THE NORTH AND IN THE SOUTH. July —
November, 1776.
Carleton blamed for keeping back the Indians, 151 — Promises of Ham-
ilton, 151 — Mercilessness of Germain, 152 — Carleton's plan of cam-
paign, 152 — Ship-building on Lake Champlain by the Americans, 152 —
British preparations for a fleet, 153 — Arnold near Valcour island, 154 —
Blockaded by British ships, 154 — Arnold's audacity, 154 — Defeat of
his squadron, 155 — He runs the blockade, 155 — His pursuit, 156 —
Carleton's treatment of his prisoners, 156 — Carleton lands at Crown
Point, 157 — His tardiness, 157 — His retreat, 157 — Wayne at Ticon-
deroga, 157 — Demands of Lee, 158 — Lee proposes to attack East Flor-
ida, 158 — His march, 158 — He wastes his troops, 159 — Goes to the
north, 159 — Indian war in the mountains, 159 — Fidelity of eastern
Tennessee, 160 — Cherokees move to war, 160 — Neutrality of the
Creeks, 161 — The Cherokees receive checks, 161 — War on the borders
of South Carolina, 162 — Williamson leads a party against them, 162 —
Successes east of the mountains, 162 — And on the Little Tennessee, 162
— Junction with Rutherford on the Hiwassee valley, 163 — Instructions
from Germain, 163 — The Cherokees beg for mercy, 163 — The district
Washington, 164.
CHAPTER X.
WHITE PLAINS. October 1 — 28, 1776.
Washington on the heights of Harlem, 165 — His lines of defence, 165
— Mount Washington, 166 — Country beyond Mount Washington, 166 —
Greene at Fort Lee, 167 — Washington safe on this side of New York
island, 167 — Establishment of new governments, 167 — Lee expected,
12 CONTENTS.
1G8 — Lee's character as a commander, 168 — His insincerity, 169 — His
opposition to independence, 169 — Lee before congress, 169 — Clamors
for a separate army, 169 — Lee's advice to Maryland, 170 — Division in
Pennsylvania, 170 — Its convention, 170 — The new constitution and the
proprietary party, 170 — Defects of the constitution, 171 — It disfran-
chises Quakers, 171 — Its single legislative assembly disapproved of, 1 71 —
A counter revolutionary spirit, 171 — Weakness of Dickinson, 172 —
Lee in New Jersey, 172 — Condition of New Jersey, 172 — Lee proposes
a negotiation with Lord Howe, 173 — Washington and congress, 173 —
Confidence of John Adams, 173 — British ships ascend the Hudson, 174
— Confidence of congress, 174 — Of Greene, 174 — Of Lee, 174 —
Movement of Howe, 174 — Howe at Frog's neck, 175 — Putnam at
Mount Washington, 175 — Mercer on Staten Island, 176 — Washington
holds a council of war, 176 — Opinion of Lee, 176 — Howe strikes at
White Plains, 177 — The line of march, 177 — Incidents of Howe's
march, 178 — Washington at White Plains, 179 — Washington's choice
of a camp, 179 — The British repulsed from Fort Washington, 179 —
Greene's elation, 180 — He finds fault with Washington, 180 — Howe
marches upon White Plains, 180 — But makes no attack, 180 — Attack
on Chatterton hill, 181 — The attack not at first successful, 181 — B,all
decides the day, 182 — Losses of the two sides, 182.
CHAPTER XL
FORT WASHINGTON. October 29 — November 16, 1776.
Washington strengthens his works, 188 — Howe postpones his attack,
183 — Washington occupies stronger ground, 183 — Evils in the American
service, 184 — Fort Washington, 184 — Greene reenforces it, 184 — Wash-
ington perceives the danger, 185 — Congress loves fighting, 185 — Infatua-
tion of Greene, 185 — Clear judgment of Washington, 185 — His instruc-
tions to Greene, 185 — Orders to prepare for evacuating Fort Lee, 186 —
Putnam crosses into the Jerseys, 186 — Instructions to Lee, 186 — Wash-
ington surveys the Highlands at West Point, 187 — Washington at Hack-
ensack, 187 — Insubordination of Lee, 187 — Greene disregards Wash-
ington's intentions, 188 — Grief of Washington, 188 — Want of vigilance
in Greene, 189 — Fort Washington summoned, 189 — Dispositions for the
defence of Mount Washington, 189 — Movement of Knyphausen, 190 —
Good conduct of Rail, 190 — Attack under Cornwallis, 191 — Laurel hill
captured, 191 — Feeble movement of Lord Percy, 191 — Retreat of Cad-
walader, 192 — Rail summons Fort Washington, 192 — Consultation, 192
■ — Washington's letter, 192 — Fort Washington surrenders, 193 — Loss
of both parties, 193 — Disingenuousness of Greene, 193 — Magnanimity
of Washington, 193.
CONTENTS. 13
CHAPTER XII.
Washington's retreat through the jerseys. November 17 —
December 13, 1776.
Cornwallis in New Jersey, 194 — Greene's neglect of orders, 194 —
Lee's disobedience, 194 — American army melting away, 195 — Greene
surprised, 195 — His narrow escape, 195 — Message to Lee, 196 — Wash-
ington crosses the Passaic, 196 — Appeal to the Middle states, 196 —
Washington at Newark, 196 — Contumacy of Lee, 197 — Washington
sends Reed to New Jersey, 197 — Mifflin to congress, 197 — Spirited con-
duct of Mifflin, 197 — Reed fails in duty, 198 — Washington at Bruns-
wick, 198 — lie does not despair, 198 — Proclamation of the Howes, 199
— Submission of Tucker, 199 — Of Galloway, 199 — Hesitation of John
Dickinson, 199 — Maryland willing to give up independence, 199 — Pa-
triotism of Schuyler, 200 — Of Wayne, 200 - Of Trumbull, 200 — Mis-
take of the Howes, 200 — Conquest of Rhode Island, 200 — Washing-
ton's urgency to Lee, 200 — Cornwallis in pursuit, 201 — Washington
marches by night to Princeton, 201 — To Trenton, 201 — Faces about,
201 — Cornwallis reenforced, 201 — Washington retreats beyond the Del-
aware, 202 — Slowness of Howe, 202 — Danger to Philadelphia, 202 —
Appeal to Pennsylvanians, 202 — Desolation of New Jersey, 202 — Ap-
peal to Lee, 203 — Conduct of Lee, 203 — His aspirations, 203 — His
letter to Bowdoin, 204 — Attempts to intrigue with Bowdoin, 204 —
Washington's further orders, 204 — Reed to Lee, 205 — Lee's answer,
205 — The answer seen by W^ashington, 206 — Arrogance of Lee, 206
— Refuses to join Washington, 206 — His contest with Heath, 206 — He
enters New Jersey, 207 — Sneers at Washington, 207 — His falsehood,
208 — Hopes to reconquer the Jerseys, 208 — Lee at Baskingridge, 209
— His letter to Gates, 209 — Advises to burn down Philadelphia, 209 —
Attacked by a party of British, 210 — Shows abject cowardice, 210 —
Surenders, 210 — Treated as a deserter, 211 — Washington's retreat, 211.
CHAPTER XIII.
TRENTON. December 11 — 26, 1776.
Resolution of congress, 213 — Congress adjourns to Baltimore, 213 —
Opinions of Samuel Adams, 214 — Orders of Putnam, 214 — The Quak-
ers not neutral, 214 — John Adams stout of heart, 215 — Position of the
British troops, 215 — Brutal conduct of the foreiga troops, 216 — Donop's
advice to Rail, 216 — Rail in command of Trenton, 216 — Confidence of
Grant, 216 — Habits of Rail, 217 — Washington's difficulties, 217— His
character in adversity, 217 — He resolves to strike the enemy, 218 —
VOL. IX. 2
14 CONTENTS.
Secures all the boats, 219 — Proposes reform in the army, 219 — His
army in danger of coming to an end, 220 — He asks for more power, 220
— He remonstrates with congress, 221 — He resumes his warning, 222 —
Obstacles to raising a new army, 222 — Opinion of Greene, 222 — Wash-
ington proposes an army of the United States, 223 — Gates and Sullivan
at head-quarters, 223 — Preparations for the attack on Trenton, 223 —
Washington's watchword, 224 — Washington's plan of attack, 224 — His
request to Gates, 225 — Grant's opinion of Washington's army, 225 — As-
surance of Rail, 226 — State of opinion in Piurope, 226 — British army at
New York, 226 — Their manner of passing the winter, 227 — Lord Howe
on privateers, 227 — Gates fails in duty, 228 — He goes to Baltimore, 228
— Griffin and Putnam fail, 228 — Cadwalader cannot cross the river, 228
— Reed goes within the enemy's lines, 228 — Reed asks for a conference
•with Donop, 229 — Opinion that Washington will give up the expedition,
229 — Washington carries out his plan, 230 — His men and his officers,
230 — The mariners of Marblehead, 230 — A letter from Reed, 230 —
A letter from Washington, 230 — Wilkinson joins Washington, 231 —
Anderson's attack, 231 — The revels of Rail, 231 — Washington crosses the
Delaware, 231 — State of the weather, 232 — Sullivan and Washington,
232 — Washington's party attack, 232 — Conduct of Stark, 233 — Tren-
ton entered on both sides, 233 — Conduct of Rail, 233 — Rail's mistakes,
234 — Rail mortally wounded, 234 — The Hessians surrender, 234 —
Loss of the Americans, 235 — Of the Hessians J35 — Etfect of the vie*
tory, 235.
CHAPTER XIV.
A8SANPINK AND PRINCETON. December 26, 1776 — January, 1777.
Suffierings of the troops of Washington, 236 — Congress at Baltimore,
237 — Motion by Samuel Adams, 237 — Letters from Washington, 237 —
Measures adopted, 238 — Washington not appointed dictator, 238 — Fi-
nancial measures, 238 — Cadwalader at Bristol, 239 — Reed recovers
courage, 239 — Washington's new plan, 239 — Resolves to pursue the en-
emy, 240 — The eastern regiments agree to remain, 240 — Zeal of Wash-
ington, Stark, and Morris, 241 — Te Deum sung at Quebec, 241 — Corn-
"wallis, 241 — Lidolence of Howe, 242 — Activity of Morris, 242 — Wash-
ington on the grant of power, 242 — He collects his forces at Trenton, 248
— Character of his army, 243 — Movement of Cornwallis, 243 — Donop's
advice, 244 — March from Princeton to Trenton, 244 — Washington at
Assanpink, 244 — He holds Cornwallis at bay, 245 — The British army
goes to sleep, 245 — Washington's vigilance, 245 — He proposes a march
to Princeton, 246 — Mercer and Saint Clair, 246 — The night, 247 —
Washington at Princeton, 247 — Battle of Princeton, 248 — Mercer
wounded, 248 — Washington in the battle, 249 — Mawhood's retreat, 249
CONTENTS. 15
— The New England regiments and the British fifty-fifth, 250 — Losses,
250 — The morning at Trenton, 250 — Washington turns towards the
highlands, 251 — P^tfect of his movements, 251 — Other successes, 251 —
General Howe knighted, 251 — Bombast of Heath, 252 — Further suc-
cesses in New Jersey, 252 — Royalists in New Jersey, 253 — Cruelty of
Germain, 253 — Proclamation of Washington, 253 — Question of alle-
giance, 253 — Results of the campaign, 254 — Condition of the British,
254 — Praises of Washington, 254 — His popularity, 255 — Cavilled at
in congress, 255 — Strange vote of congress, 255 — Washington's answer,
255 — Conduct of Richard Henry Lee, 256 — Morris and Hooper on
Washington, 256.
CHAPTER XV.
/
THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SEVERAL STATES OF AMERICA. 1776 —
1783.
New institutions for the states, 257 — Principles on which they were
formed, 258 — Sovereignty of the people, 258 — Confidence of the Amer-
ican people, 259 — England a land of liberty, 259 — Why American
statesmen became republicans, 260 — Governments formed for the several
states, 260 — Massachusetts, 260 — Its first constitution, 260 — Its second
constitution, 261 — Government of New Hampshire, 261 — Of South
Carolina, 261 — Of Rhode Island, 261 — Of Connecticut, 261 — Of Vir-
ginia, 262 — Of New Jersey, 262 — Of Delaware, 262— Of Pennsyl-
vania, 262 — Of Maryland, 262 — Of North Carolina, 262 — Of Georgia,
262 — Of New York. 262 — Theory of the elective franchise, 263 — The
suffrage a privilege, 263 — Qualifications of voters, 263 — Freehold and
property qualifications, 264 — Vote by word of mouth, 264 — By proxy,
264 — By ballot, 264 — Popular branch of the legislature, 264 — Appor-
tionment of representation, 265 — Great inequality in Maryland and South
Carolina, 265 — Franklin's political opinions, 265 — One 'assembly only in
Pennsylvania and Georgia, 265 — Historic precedents generally followed,
266 — Two legislative bodies, 266 — Maryland seeks to curb popular
power, 266 — Mode of electing the governor, 267 — Property qualification,
267 — Period of service of governor, 268 — The veto power, 268 —Im-
portance of the legislature, 269 — The appointing power, 269 — The ju-
diciary, 270 — Appointment of the judges, 270 — Their qualifications, 270
— Their power, 270 — Public education in Massachusetts, 270 — In Con-
necticut, 271 — Rule for nomination in Connecticut, 271 — The American
system, 271 — People represented as they are, 271 — The people the ele-
ment of permanence, 272 — Freedom of worship, 272 — Estab'ishment
of freedom of mind, 273 — Liberal system of New York, 273 — The free
black in New York, 274 — Influence of Protestantism on freedom of mind,
274 — The Americans not skeptics, 274 — Religious tests, 275 — Position
16 CONTENT
of Catholics, 275— Of the Jews, 275 — Of the church, 276 — Public
worship in Maryland, 276 — In Massachusetts, 276 — Disposition of church
property, 277 — South Carolina has a religion of the state, 277 — The
separation of church and state approved of, 277 — A struggle in Virginia,
278 — The establishment of the Anglican church abolished in Virginia*
278 — The rule in New Jersey, 278 — The authors of freedom of worship.
279 — Disposition of intestate estates in Georgia, 279 — In Virginia, 279
— Entails abolished in Virginia, 280 — The rules of descent in Virginia,
280 — No property in the increase of slaves, 281 — Delaware on slavery,
281 — Mode of reforming constitutions, 281 — British bill of rights, 282 —
The rights of man declared, 282 — Except in South Carolina, 282 —
Theory of political life, 282 — Moderation of American statesmen, 283 —
America prepares the way for progress, 283.
CHAPTER XVI.
PREPARATIONS OF EUROPE FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777. FRANCE
AND HOLLAND. December, 1776 — May, 1777.
A rival to Washington, 284— Kalb, 284 — Lafayette, 285 — Franklin
arrives in France, 285 — Burke's opinion of Franklin, 285 — Effect of
his arrival, 286 — Protest of Lord Stormont, 286 — Reply of Vergennes,
286 — Policy of Maurepas, 287 — Opinion of Artois, 287 — Opinion in
France, 287 — The friends of Choiseul, 287 — American commissioners
wait on Vergennes, 288 — The Count de Aranda, 288 — His relation to
the Jesuits, 289 — His hatred of England, 289 — Holds interviews with
the commissioners, 289 — Sagacity of Franklin, 289 — Memorial to Ver-
gennes, 289 — Indifference of Spain, 290 — Answer of the king of
France, 290 — Policy of France and Spain, 290 — Americans may trade
in their ports, 290 — Aids from France, 291 — Contract for tobacco, 291
— Overbearing 'policy of England towards Holland, 291 — What England
thought of neutrality, 292 — Haughtiness of the ambassador at the Hague,
292 — Conduct of the United Provinces, 293 — France carries on a war
in disguise, 293 — InHuence of philosophy, 293 — The author of *' Figaro,"
294 — Beaumarchais' letfeer to Maurepas, 294 — Weakness of Louis the
Sixteenth, 294 — Three objects proposed to Maurepas, 294 — Necker
director-general of the finances, 295 — His character, 295 — Opinion of
the king, 295 — Embarkation of Lafayette and Kalb for America, 296 —
The women of Paris, 296 — Pulaski, 296 — He sails for America, 297 —
Opinion of Joseph the Second, 297 — Ships from France to the United
States, 297 — English remonstrances, 297 — American privateers in French
harbors, 298 — Vergennes evades reclamations, 298 — His policy the
policy of an enemy to England, 299 — Claims of England, 299 — Answer
Df Vergennes, 299 — England delays the declaration of war, 300
CONTENTS. 17
CHAPTER XVII.
PREPARATIONS OF EUROPE FOR THE CAMPAIGN OP 1777, CONTINUED.
THE ASPECT OF SPAIN ON AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 1777.
France and Spain, 301 — Spain a discoverer, 301 — Her people, 301 —
Her great men, 302 — Want of good government, 302 — Homogeneous-
ness, 302 — Chivalry, 303 — Governed by the house of Hapsburg, 303
— Inherited by one of the Bourbons, HOB — Charles the Third, 303 —
The Inquisition, 303 — Family compact, 304 — Grimaldi retires, 304 —
Ministry of Florida Blanca, 304 — His character, 305 — His policy Span-
ish, 305 — His vanity, 305 — His influence on Charles the Third, 306 —
Galvez, 306 — Arthur Lee on his way to Madrid, 306 — Spain opposed
to American independence, 306 — And to republicanism, 306 — Spain
unprepared for war, 307 — Ruined by monopoly, 307— Without an effi-
cient navy, 308 — O'Reilly, 308 — The king fond of peace, 308 — Lee
stopped at Burgos, 308 — His interview with Grimaldi, 308 — Florida
Blanca's assurances to the British minister, 309 — Spanish court drawn
towards France, 309 — Its fear of England, 310 — Gibraltar, 310 — Spain
aids America secretly, 310 — Florida Blanca and Vergennes, 311 — Ver-
gennes fixes the epoch for war with England, 811.
CHAPTER XVIII.
ENGLAND PREPARES FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777. January — May,
1777.
Lord North for concession to America, 312 — War in Canada directed
by Germain, 312 — Threats to American sailors, 313 — Nathan Coffin,
313 — Arrogance of Stormont, 313 — Troops engaged in Germany, 313
— Prince of Waldeck, 313 — Of Hanau, 313 — Heister recalled, 314 —
Shabby conduct of the duke of Brunswick, 315 — Margrave of Anspach,
815 — Feeling of the people of Germany, 315 — Frederic of Prussia,
316 — Court of Vienna, 316 — A mutiny, 317 — Zeal of the margrave,
317 — He becomes a driver, 317 — Recruits from Germany, 317 — The
recruits Protestants, 31 7 r— Duke of Wirtemberg, 318 — Opposition of the
Catholic princes, 318 — Saxe-Gotha, 318 — Darmstadt, 318 — Prince of
Anhalt-Zerbst, 319 — Sources of venality, 319 — Despotic power a curse,
319 — Number of the reenfbrcements, 320 — British enlistments in Amer-
ica, 320 — The king favors employment of savages, 321 — Moderation
of Carleton, 321 — Vehemence of the king, 321 — Joseph Brant, 321 —
Opinion of officers in Canada, 322— La Corne Saint Luc, 322 — Plan
of Burgoyne's campaign, 822 — Saint Leger, 322 — Germain wishes to re-
move General Howe, 323 — General Howe supported by the king, 323 —
2*
18 CONTENTS.
Privateers, 323 — Finances of the United States, 323 — Finances of Eng-
land, 324 — Archbishop of York, 324 — Edmund Burke, 324 — Earl of
Abingdon, 324 — Fox, 324 — Hartley, 324 — Chatham, 325 — Chatham's
advice rejected, 325 — Employment of Indians, 325 — Letter of Tryon, 326.
CHAPTER XIX.
AMERICA BEFORE THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN. March — May
1777.
General Howe changes his views, 327 — Interposition of Lee, 327 —
His request to congress, 328 — His request refused, 328 — Exchange of
prisoners, 328 — Attempts to negotiate with Washington, 329 — The
overture rejected, 330 — Lee again appeals to congress, 330 — Lee's
treason, 330 — His plan, 331 — What was thought of Lee in Europe, 331
— The Howes at variance with Germain, 331 — Their new instructions,
83^ — Their reply, 332 — Demand for reenforcements, 332 — Reply of
Germain, 332 — Germain's disingenuousness, 333 — Final plan of General
Howe, 333 — His letter to Carleton, 333 — Indian alliances, 334 — Brit-
ish troops at Amboy, 334 — Weakness of Washington's army, 334 —
Washington advises a draft, 334 — Militia of New England, 335 — Reed's
disingenuousness, 335 — Alexander Hamilton, 335 — Discontent of Arnold,
335 — Stark, sliiihted, retires, 335 — Congress and Gates, 336 — Discon-
tent of Washington's generals, 336 — Crowd of foreign adventurers, 337
— Merit of Kosciuszko, 337 — Greene at Philadelphia, 337 — Helplessness
of congress, 338 — Interference in Philadelphia, 338 — Clinton on the
Hudson, 338 — Rivalry of Schuyler and Gates, 338 — Intrigues of Gates,
339 — Complaints of Schuyler, 339 — Gates in an independent command,
339 — His importunity with congress, 339 — Direction to Washington, 339
— Washington's opinion of Fort Independence, 340 — Schuyler, Gates,
and congress, 340 — Gates asks for cavalry, 341 — His insubordination,
341 — His petulance towards Washington, 341 — Appeals to congress
against Washington, 341 — Removed from his command, 341 — Schuyler
and Ticonderoga, 341 — Command of the northern department given to
Schuyler, 342 — Success in the defence of Ticonderoga impossible, 342
— Gates's intrigues, 342 — Patriotism of Washington, 343 — Injustice of
members of congress, 343 — Impatience of Samuel Adams, 343 — Conduct
of Washington, 343.
CHAPTER XX.
THE BRITISH EVACUATE NEW JERSEY. March — July, 1777.
Movements of Howe, 345 — Lincoln surprised, 346 — Expedition to
Danbury, 346 — Danbury burned, 346 — Courage of Wooster, 347 — Of
CONTENTS. 19
Arnold, 34 7 — Retreat of the British, 347 — They reembark, 848 — Con-
gress reward Arnold, 348 — Meigs at Sag Harbor, 348 — His success, 349
— Vengeful spirit of Germain, 349 — Orders to distress and destroy, 350
— Howe and Lord North, 850 — Howe's dilatoriness, 351 — Washington
at Middlebrook, 351 — Howe prepares to march on Philadelphia, 351 —
Sullivan retreats, 352 — Not pursued, 352 — The flag of the United States,
352 — Washington out-generals Howe, 352 — Samuel Adams blames
Washington, 353 — He defends himself, 353 — Howe returns to Bruns-
wick, 854 — Heister suffers on the retreat, 354 — Morgan attacks Corn-
wallis, 355 — The British reach Amboy, 355 — Washington at Quibble
town, 355 — Howe marches out again, 355 — Skirmish with Stirling, 356
— Stirling repulsed with loss, 356 — Washington retires to Middlebrook,
856 « — Return of the British to Staten Island, 356 — New Jersey evacu-
ated, 356 — Toryism in Philadelphia, 357 — Congress celebrates the fourth
of July, 357 — Howe prepares to embark his army, 357 — Capture of
Prescott in Rhode Island, 358.
CHAPTER XXL
THE ADVANCE OF BURGOYNE FROM CANADA. ilay — July 7, 1777
The winter in Canada, 359 — Riedesel on employing Indians, 359 —
Brant and the Mohawks, 359 — Speech of Gates to the Mohawks, 360 —
Vermont declares independence, 360 — Its independence opposed by con-
gress, 361 — Advice of Gates to Saint Clair, 361 — Schuyler at Ticon-
deroga, 361 — Burgoyne at Quebec, 361 — Anger of Carleton, 362 —
Burgoyne's preparations, 362 — Diversion byway of Lake Ontario, 362
— The first scalps, 362 — Burgoyne meets a congress of Indians, 362 —
His speech, 363 — His regulations about scalping, 364 — Answer of an
Indian chief, 364 — Burgoyne's speech condemned by Burke, 365 — And
by Fox, 365 — Defended by Suffolk, 365 — Condemned by Chatham, 365
— Burgoyne's excuse, 365 — His proclamation, 365 — His threats against
New England, 365 — Saint Clair self-deceived, 366 — Ticonderoga nearly
invested, 366 — Saint Clair retreats, 366 — Pursuit of Saint Clair, 367 —
Movement of Burgoyne, 367 — His report and his fame, 367.
CHAPTER XXn.
PROGRKSS OF THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH. July — AugUSt 21,
1777.
Vermont convention, 368 — Their new constitution, 368 — Slavery, 369
— Their calls for aid, 369 — Battle of Hubbardton, 369 — Riedesel comes
to the rescue, 369 — Heroic death of Francis, 369 — Losses on both sides,
20 CONTENTS.
870 — The British at Fort Ann, 370 — A thanksgiving, 370 — Carleton
refuses to garrison Ticonderoga, 370 — Burgoyne's mistake in the choice
of road, 371 — His opinion of the Indians, 371 — He resolves to use them,
371 — Murder of Jane MacCrea, 371 — Burgoyne forgives the assassin,
372 — Public opinion against Schuyler, 372 — He blames Saint Clair un-
reasonably, 372 — His want of military talent, 372 — Clinton first gov-
ernor of New York, 372 — Schuyler and New England, 373 — Schuyler
retreats, 373 — Condition of the state of New York, 373 — Watchfulness
of Washington, 374 — He sends generals to the north, 374 — And troops,
374 — He writes to New England, 374 — And to Schuyler, 375 — And
to the council of New York, 375 — Schuyler despondent, 375 — Expects
Burgoyne at Albany, 376 — Germain and the king on employing Indians,
376 — Saint Leger sent against Fort Stanwix, 377 — His force chiefly In-
dians, 377 — Strength of Fort Stanwix, 378 — Advance of Herkimer, 378
— Indians go out against him, 378 — Herkimer's party in an ambush, 378
— They fight, 379— Herkimer wounded, 379 — Spencer killed, 379 —
Losses, 379 — Sally of Willett, 380 — Their spoils, 380 — Indians per-
mitted to kill their captives, 380 — Willett and Stockwell, 380 — Advance
of Arnold, 380 — The Indians retreat, 381 — Flight of Saint Leger, 381 —
Honors to Herkimer, 381 — Character of the Indian allies, 381 — The
Seneca warriors at home, 382 — Burgoyne and the Indians, 382 — Bur-
goyne takes a pledge of them to remain, 383 — Fixes his time for arriving
at Albany, 383 — Baum sent to Bennington, 383 — His orders, 383 —
Breymann sent to his support, 384 — ^Movement of New Hampshire, 384
— Troops under Stark, 384 — Stark surrounds Baum, 384 — They fight
at Bennington, 385 — Baum's party surrenders, 385 — Breymann comes
up, 385 — A new fight, 385 — Losses, 385 — Courage of the Americans
at Bennington, 386 — Dismay in Burgoyne's camp, 386 — Schuyler re-
moved, 386 — Condition of the northern department, 386 — Congress
lavishes favors on Gates, 387.
CHAPTER XXIII.
8IR WILLIAM HOWE TAKES PHILADELPHIA. August — September 26,
1777.
Washington not superseded, 388 — Congress interferes with the com
missary department, 388 — The politics of congress, 389 — Appointment
of general officers, 389 — Kalb and Lafayette, 389 — Sullivan's miscon-
duct, 390 — Consequent loss to Washington's army, 890 — Howe embarks
for Philadelphia, 391 — He enters the Chesapeake, 391 — Opinions of
John Adams, 891 — Strength of Howe's army, 892 — Disaffection In
Maryland and Delaware, 892 — Pennsylvania does not rise, 392 — Wash
ington's force, 893 — Foreigners with Washington, 393 — Washington
CONTENTS. 21
marches through Philadelphia, 893 — Encamps beyond Wilmington, 398 —
Howe begins to advance, 394 — Skirmishers, 394 — Feint at Milltown,
894 — Washington's movement, 394 — He sends his baggage to Chester,
894 — Prepares to dispute the passage of the Brandy wine, 395 — Kny-
phausen at Chad's ford, 805 — Washington prepares to attack him, 395
— Disobedience of Sullivan, 396 — Consequence, 396 — Blunder of Sul-
livan, 396 — He attempts to repair it, 397 — His division attacked, 397 —
Rout of the American right wing, 397 — Washington comes to the res-
cue, 898 — Arrests the pursuit, 398 — British cross Chad's ford, 398 —
Final encounter, 399 — Washington's army at Chester, 399 — Losses, 399
— Loss of the British, 400 — Spirit of congress, 400 — Pennsylvania fac-
tions, 401 — Negro slaves side with the British, 401 — Washington
marches against the British, 401 — Panic in Philadelphia, 401 — Wash-
ington crosses the Schuylkill, 402 — Rashness of Wayne, 402 — John
Adams blames Washington, 402 — Howe crosses the Schuylkill, 403 —
Orders sent to Putnam, 403 — And to Gates, 403 — The British army
take I'hiladelphia, 404 — Effect of the campaign, 404.
CHAPTER XXiy.
THE CAPITULATION OF BURGOYNE. August 19 — October 20, 1777.
Gates in command of the northern army, 405 — Charge of Chief Jus-
tice Jay, 406 — Gates at Stillwater, 406 — His strength, 407 — His char-
acter, 407 — Arnold, 407 — March of Burgoyne, 407 — He crosses the
Hudson, 408 — Brown's expedition against Ticonderoga, 408 — His suc-
cess, 408 — Burgoyne advances, 408 — Battle of Freeman's farm, 409 —
Good conduct of the Americans, 410 — They fight till sundown, 410 —
Small losses of the Americans, 411 — Loss of the British, 411 — Bur-
goyne's dangerous encampment, 411 — Advice of Arnold, 411 — Gates
timid, 412 — Messages from Clinton, 412 — Clinton moves against Putnam,
412 — Sagacity of Governor Clinton, 413 — Mistakes of Putnam, 413 —
Capture of Forts Clinton and Montgomery, 413 — The British gain the
mastery of the Hudson river, 413 — Alarming letter from Putnam, 414 —
Kingston burned down, 414 — Perplexity of Burgoyne, 414 — Gates re-
enforced, 414 — The Indians, 414 — Burgoyne's council, 415 — He ad-
vances, 415 — Strength of his party, 415 — Attacked by the Americans,
416 — His party routed, 416 — Eraser wounded, 416 — Flight of the
British, 416 — Total loss of the British artillery, 417 — Unwise attack by
Arnold, 417 — Good conduct of Brooks, 417 — Breymann's camp taken,
417 — Gates not present in the battle, 418 — By whom the battle was
fought, 418 — Desperate condition of Burgoyne, 418 — Death of Eraser,
418 — His burial, 418 — Retreat of Burgoyne, 419 — Burgoyne invested,
420 — Capitulation, 420 — Amount of his losses, 420 — Causes of the re-
sult, 421 — What Gates should have done, 421.
22 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXV.
THE CON TEST F«jR THE DELAWARE RIVER. September —November,
1777.
Philadelphia of no military importance, 422 — Defences of the river,
422 — Loss of the American frigate, 423 — Billingsport deserted, 423 —
Despondency, 423 — Howe's camp at Germantown, 423 — Speech of
Washington to his army, 424 — His plan of attack on the British, 424 —
Party with Washington, 425 — Howe surprised, 425 — Musgrave in
Chew's house, 425 — Greene behind time, 425 — Advance of Sullivan
and Wayne, 4'25 — Attempt to take Chew's house, 426 — Washington
advances to the front, 426 — Tardy arrival of Greene, 426 — His bad dis-
position of his troops, 426 — Macdougall, 427 — Greene, 427 — Stephen,
427— Woodford, 427 — Armstrong, 427 — Sullivan's men, 427 — Bat-
talions with Cornwallis, 428 — Washington retreats, 428 — Why victory
was lost, 428 — Supplies to the British cut off, 428 — Inactivity of Penn-
sylvania, 429 — British fleet in the Delaware, 429 — Red-bank and Mud
island, 429 — British abandon the passes in the Highlands, 429 — News
from Burgoyne, 429 — Donop goes against Red-bank, 430 — His attack,
430 — His repulse, 431 — The British lose ships of war, 431 — Loss of
the Hessians, 431 — Donop's death-bed, 431 —^ Howe resigns, 432 — Gates
fails in duty, 432 — Mission of Hamilton, 432 — Conduct of congress, 432
— Congress lose their opportunity, 4 33 — Siege of Mud island, 433 —
Fleury, 433 — Thayer, 433 — British prepare for an attack, 434 — Thayer
evacuates Mud island, 434 — Cornwallis in New Jersey, 435 — Followed
by Greene, 435 — Gallantry of Lafayette, 435 — The states cannot be
subjugated, 435.
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE CONFEDERATION. November 15, 17J7.
The congress at Yorktown, 436 — Connection of the present with the
past, 436 — Unity of the colonies, 437 — No central authority, 437 —
Principle of resistance, 437 — Spirit of separation increases, 438 — Extent
of the United States, 438 — Citizenship, 438 — Subject and citizen, 439 —
Citizen and free inhabitant, 439 — Naturalization, 439 — Intercitizenship,
439 — Independence of each state, 439 — Vote by states, 440 — Tho
compromise, 440 — The two-thirds vote, 440 — Vote by majority, 441 —
Congress has no power to levy taxes, 441 — Post-office, 441 — Import and
export duties, 441 — Influence of slavery on the distribution of the quotas,
441 — Quota regulated by houses and lands, 442 — Navigation laws, 442
— Amen<lment proposed by New Jersey, 442 — The confederation and
the slave-trade, 443 — The domain within the states, 443 — The country
CONTENTS. 23
northwest of the Ohio, 443 — Jealousy of military power, 443 — Effect
of the esteem for Washington, 444 — Thirteen armies and not one, 444
— Maritime affairs, 444 — Foreign relations, 444 — Joint powers of the
states and the United States, 445 — Rotation in congress, 445 — The com-
mittee of states, 445 — Congress has no veto power, 445 — No judiciary,
445 — No incidental powers, 44*5 — Mode of amending the confederation,
446 — Character ot the confederation, 446 — Four great results, 446 —
A republican government and extent of territory, 447 — Elimination of
disfranchisements, 447 — Free inhabitants free citizens, 447 — Intercit-
izenship, 447 — Opposition of South Carolina, 448 — Overruled by con-
gress, 448 — Causes of the decision, 448 — Who are members of a colony,
448 — Definition of a citizen, 449 — The free black, 449 — Universal
suffrage, 449 — Individual liberty secured, 449 — Declaration of rights,
449 — The Greek system, 450 — American system, 450 — The confedera-
tion a contradiction, 450 — Elements of union, 450 — Nationality, 451 —
A free people of the United States, 451 — Dangers to its nationality, 451.
CHAPTER XXVIT.
WINTER-QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. November, 1777 — April,
1778.
Clamor for the capture of Philadelphia, 452 — Howe plans an attack
on Washington, 452 — Washington at Whitemarsh, 453 — First advance
of Howe, 453 — Its failure, 453 — Second advance, 453 — He fears to
attack, 454 — Returns to Pliiladelphia, 454 — Washington in winter-<|aar-
ters, 454 — Conway cabal, 454 — Washington's opinion of Conway, 454 —
Conway's discontent, 455 — Letter of Reed, 455 — Conduct of Wilkin-
son, 455 — Favors to Mifflin, 455 — Washington has an interview with
Conway, 455 — Sullivan's opinion, 456 — Wayne, 456 — Movements of
Conway, 456 — Letter of Lovell, 456 — Of Wayne, 456 — Conway and
Mifflin, 456 — Lovell on Washington, 457 — •Discontent of congress, 457
— Mifflin on Conway, 457 — Gates to Conway, 457 — Gates complains
to congress, 457 — Promotion of Conway, 457 — Condition of Washing-
ton's army, 458 — Valley Forge for winter-quarters, 458 — Sufferings of
the American troops, 458 — They build huts, 458 — Their privations, 459
— Remonstrance of Pennsylvania, 459 — Reply of Washington, 459 —
Absurd advice of Sullivan, 460 — " New Jersey Gazette," 460 — Congress
does nothing for the army, 460 — Remonstrances of Washington, 461 —
Care toavoid jealousy of the military power, 461 — Rush plots against Wash-
ington, 461 — Conduct of Patrick Henry, 462 — Vote of Pennsylvania, 462
-- Winter expedition against Canada, 462 — Conduct of Lafayette, 462 —
Incompetency of Gates, 463 — Washington suffers exquisite pain, 463 — •
His letters to the historian Gordon, 463 — His remonstrances to congress,
24 CONTENTS.
464 — His enemies shrink back, 464 — Gates, 464 — Mifflin, 464 — Con-
way, 464 — The committee of congress repair to camp, 464 — Consequences
of procrastination, 465 — Comfort of the British in Philadelphia, 465 —
Their passion for amusement, 465 — Their dissoluteness, 465 — The eni-
barkation of Burgoyne's troops susspended, 466 — Conquest of Natchez,
466 — Expedition of Saint Clair Clarke to the northwest, 467 — Of
Gist to the southwest, 467 — American privateers, 467 — American
public ships, 467 — Heroism of Biddle, 467 — Weakness of the govern-
ment, 467 — More paper money, 468 — Its depreciation, 468 — Washington
advises drafts from the militia, 468 — Slaves of Rhode Island enlisted, 468
— Emancipation in Rhode Island, 468 — The United States and defaulters,
469 — Greene quartermaster-general, 469 — Steuben inspector-general,
469 — Conflict of opinion between congress and Washington, 470 — Con-
gress for separatism, 470 — Washington for union, 470 — Congress jealous
of the army, 470 — Washington on standing armies, 471 — Submission of
the army to the civil power, 471 — Necessity of union between the army
and citizens, 471 — People of the United States, 472 — Merit of the
soldiers, 472 — Unity of the country, 472.
CHAPTER XXVITl.
THE UNITED STATES AND GEORGE THE THIRD. 1777 — 1778.
America independent in fact, 473 — Policy of Russia, 473 — Of Fred-
eric, 473— Arthur Lee at Vienna, 473 — At Berlin, 473 — The British
minister employs a burglar, 474 — Frederic favors American indepen-
dence, 4 74 — Refuses the troops for America the transit through his do-
minions, 474 — Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, 474 — His bad bargain, 474 —
His loss of troops, 4 74 — Reception of his troops at Quebec, 4 74 — Des-
potic conduct of the landgrave of Hesse Cassel, 474 — Meanness of the
Brunswick princes, 474 — Wish their troops sent to the West Indies, 475
— Failure of a treaty with Wirtemberg, 475 — With the elector palatine,
475 — England makes no new subsidiary treaties, 4 75 — America and Ger-
man literature, 4 75 — Goethe, 475 — " Price on Liberty," 475 — Lessing,
475 — Schiller, 475 — Kant, 475 — Address of Mirabeau to the peoples
of Germany and the soldiers, 476 — Reply of the landgrave, 476 — Mira-
beau's rejoinder, 476 — Opening of parliament, 4 76 — The king still for
reducing the colonies, 477 — Chatham, 477 — His despair, 4 77 — His opin-
ion that America cannot be conquered, 477 — His protest against the use
of German hirelings, 477 — And of savage hell-hounds, 477 — His policy,
477 — Plan of the Rockingham party, 477 — Duke of Richmond on inde-
pendence, 477 — Chatham on Gibraltar, 477 — Lord North hears of Bur-
goyne's surrender, 478 — He desires to make peace, 4 78 — Speech of
Richmond, 478 — Of Burke, 478 — Of Fox, 478 — North follows the
CONTENTS. 25
advice of George, 478 — His penitence in his old age, 478 — Burgoyne'a
surrender known in France, 478 — Vergennes desires a treaty, 479 —
Boundaries of the colonies, 479 — The fisheries, 479 — Louis the Sixteenth
will support American independence, 480 — On what conditions, 480 —
No propagandism, 480 — Promise of aid in money, 480 — Ships for Amer-
ica to be convoyed, 480 — Mischievous intermeddling of Arthur Lee, 480
— Lord Amherst's opinion on the conduct of the war, 480 — The king
will not let Lord North flinch, 480 — A place in the ministry offered
Chatham, 481 — Whose friends the king courts, 481 — Treaties between
France and the United States, 481 — Their principles, 481 — Their condi-
tions, 481 — The French claim to the fisheries acknowledged, 481 — Con-
traband goods, 482 — When peace may be made, 482 — Mutual guaran-
ties, 482 — Spain, 482 ~ The treaties in England, 482— -Hillsborough
attacks Richmond, 482 — The answer, 482 — Richmond seeks the friend-
ship of Chatham, 483 — Eulogy of Chatham by Grenville, 483 — Franklin
gains public opinion for America, 483 — Voltaire, 483 — Difference be-
tween him and America, 483 — The two on the same side, 484 — Vol-
taire's blessing on America, 484 — His homage to Lafayette, 484 — Lord
North's conciliatory bills, 484 — He confesses his own want of policy, 484
— Effect of his speech on the commons, 484 — Hartley's attempt with
Franklin, 485 — Franklin's reply, 485 — France avows her treaties with
America. 485 — Will protect commerce between France and the United
States, 486 — State of war between England and France, 486 — Ambassa-
dor's recall, 486 — George the Third and Chatham, 486 — Fox pliable, 486
— Demands of Chatham, 486 — Violence of the king, 487 — His persist-
ence, 487 — Will risk his crown, 487 — Conway for treating with Frank-
lin, 487 — Rockingham on independence, 487 — Shelburne for war with
France, 487 — His opinion of a change in the ministry, 487 — Vehement
anger of George the Third, 488.
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE UNITED STATES AND FRANCE. 1778.
American commissioners presented to the king, 489 — Franklin's dress,
489 — The commissioners presented to the queen, 490 — Peevishness of
the king, 490 — Character of Franklin's mind, 490 — Not overawed by
birth or authority, 490 — His tranquillity, 490 — Why he was frugal, 491
— His moral greatness, 491 — His manners, 491 — He wins universal re-
spect, 491 — His eulogy by John Adams, 491 — By D'Alembert, 492 — A
representative of opinion, 492 — What Malesherbes said, 492 — Franklin
excites no jealousy in the privileged classes, 492 — His secret of states-
manship, 492 — His prediction of the French revolution, 492 — He uses
bis fame for his country's good, 492 — Superior to envy, 493 — He is
VOL. IX. 3
26 CONTENTS.
esteemed by tlie best men in England, 493 — Position of the king and
Chatham, 493 — Chatham and Richmond, 493 — Chatham and the house
of lords, 494 — Speech of Richmond, 494 — Chatham's reply, 494 — Rich-
mond rejoins, 495 — Chatham struck with death, 495 — Indifference of
Mansfield, 495 — Glee of the king, 495 — Chatham in his last days, 495
— His eloquence, 496 — His haughtiness to the last, 496 — His death,
496 — The lords refuse to attend his funeral, 496 — Influence of France
on the political institutions of England, 496 — Powers of Europe favor
the United States, 497 — England insists on a preference from the United
States, 497 — France asks no favor, 497 — Agency of Hartley, 497 —
Frankness of Franklin, 497 — Speech of Fox, 497 — The British com-
mission to the United States a delusion, 498 — Opinion of Washington,
498 — Resolution of congress, 498 — Opinion of Governor Clinton, 498 —
Of Jay, 498 — Of Robert Morris, 498 — A French fleet sails to the
United States, 499 — Gerard embarks as minister, 499 — Alliance between
France and America riveted, 499 — Franklin and Voltaire at the French
academy, 499 — Cause of the alliance of France and America, 499 —
Free inquiry, 499 — System of Luther, 5U0 — Of Descartes, 500 — Dif-
ference between the systems, 500 — The system of Protestantism con-
tinuity, 500 — Of Descartes, revolution, 500 — Lutherans and Calvlnists,
501 — Philosophers, 501 — Lessing, 501 — Calvinism in philosophy, 501
— Kant in politics the counterpart of America, 501 — Free thought in
France, 502 — Why it had a spirit of revenge, 502 — Causes that con-
tributed to free thought, 502 — Influence of America, 502 — Force of
public opinion in France, 503 — No free public opinion in Spain, 503 —
Contrast between French literature and Spanish, 503 — Natural science
and religion, 504 — Religion in. Spain subjected to materialism, 504 —
Spain intolerant, 504 — Contrast between the French mind and the Span-
ish mind, 504 — The Bourbon family compact annulled, 505 — Spain an
enemy to American independence, 505 — The offer of Florida nyected,
505 — Gibraltar, 505 — France and the United States, 505 — France
confers a priceless benefit, 506 — Benefit of the American revolution to
France, 506.
THE
iMERICAN REVOLUTION.
EPOCH FOUKTH.
THE INDEPENDENCE OF AMERICA IS ACKNOWLEDGED.
1776—1782.
THE INDEPENDENCE
OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
IS ACKNOWLEDGED.
CHAPTER I.
THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES.
JjLY, 1776.
IHE American Declaration of Independence was the chap.
beginning of new ages. Though it had been invited,
expected, and prepared for, its adoption suddenly
changed the contest from a war for the redress of
grievances to an effort at the creation of a self-
governing commonwealth. It disembarrassed the
people of the United States from the legal fiction
of owning a king against whom they were in arms,
brushed away forever the dreamy illusion of their
reconcilement to the dominion of Britain, and for
the first time set -before them a well-defined, single,
and inspiring purpose. As the youthful nation took
its seat among the powers of the earth, its desire
was no longer for the restoration of the past, but
turned with prophetic promise towards the boundless
32 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, future. Hope whispered the assurance of unheard-
w-,,^ of success in the pursuit of public happiness through
Ju?y!' ^^^^^^ ^^ natural equality and the rights of man.
Before receiving the declaration, the convention
of Mar) land, on the sixth of July, yielded to " the
dire necessity" of renouncing a king who had vio-
lated his compact, and " conjured every virtuous
citizen to join cordially in maintaining the freedom
of Maryland and her sister colonies."
Two days later, the committee of safety and that
of inspection at Philadelphia marched in procession
to the State-house, where the declaration was read
to the battalions of volunteers and a vast concourse
of the inhabitants of the city and county; after
which the emblems of royalty were taken down
from the halls where justice had hitherto been
administered in the king's name, and were burnt
amidst the acclamations of the crowd, while merry
chimes from the churches and peals from the state-
house bell proclaimed liberty throughout the land.
Tlie ravages of immediate war that overhung New
Jersey were distinctly foreseen by her statesmen,
w^ho dared not trust "that their numbers, union, or
valor, or anything short of the almighty power of
God could save them ; " but the congress of that
state, in presence of the committee of safety, the
militia under arms, and a great assembly of the
people, having faith in " an interposing Providence,"
and an inward witness to the vitality of their politi-
cal principles, published simultaneously at Trenton
the declaration of independence and their own new
constitution.
THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES. 33
On the morning of the ninth, the newly elected chap.
convention of New York, invested with full powers
from the people, assembled ^t White Plains, chose
as president Nathaniel Woodhull of Suffolk county,
a man of courage, sound judgment, and discriminat-
ing mind, and listened to the reading of the decla-
ration of independence. In the afternoon they met
again, thirty-eight in number, among whom were
Woodhull, Jay, Van Cortland t, Lewis Morris, Gouv-
erneur Morris, Gansevoort, Sloss Hobart, the Pres-
byterian minister Keteltas, and other representatives
of the Dutch, English, and Huguenot elements of the
state. The British were concentrating their forces
near that one colony alone, so as to invade it from
Lake Champlain and from the sea. Already a numer-
ous and well-appointed British force lay encamped on
Staten Island, and, with the undisputed command
of the water, menaced the city of New York ; the
militia of Staten Island, to the number of four hun-
dred, had sworn allegiance to the king ; Long Island
must yield ; the royalists were confident that the
army of Howe might penetrate the interior, get the
main body of the American levies between them and
the sea, form a junction with the British troops which
were expected from Canada, and before the end of
the year crush the state into subjection. There was
no chance of ultimate success for the inhabitants of
New York but through years of sorrow ; during
which they were sure to be impoverished, and on
every part of their territory to meet death from
regular troops, and partisans, and savages. If resist-
ance to the end should be chosen, Lewis Morris must
abandon his fine estate to the unsparing ravages of
34 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCR
CHAP, the enemy ; Woodh nil, whose days were numbered,
could not hope to save his constituents from imme-
diate subjection ; Jay must prepare to see his aged
father and mother driven from their home at Rye,
and, with the sensitiveness and infirmities of age,
pine away and die as wanderers ; the men from Tryon
county, which then included all the western part
of the state, knew that their vote would let loose
the Indian with his scalping-knife along their border.
But they all wisely trusted in the unconquerable
spirit of those by whom they had been elected.
The leading part fell to Jay. On his report, the
convention with one voice, while they lamented
the cruel necessity for "independence, approved it,
and joined in supporting it at the risk of their
lives and fortunes." They directed it to be pub-
lished with the beat of drum at White Plains, and
in every district of the state ; empowered their del-
egates in congress to act for the happiness and the
w^elfare of the United States of America ; and named
themselves the representatives of the people of the
State of New York. By this decree the union of
the old thirteen colonies was consummated ; and
from that day New York, ever with the cup of
misery at her lips, remained true to her pledge.
In announcing independence to the generals and
the divisions of the continental army at distant posts,
the commander-in-chief attributed to the impulse of
necessity and the repetition of insufferable injuries
the dissolution of the connection with Great Britain ;
at the same time he asserted the perpetual claim of
the colonists to " the privileges of nature " and " the
rights of humanity." The declaration was read on
THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES. 35
the ninth to every brigade in New York city, and chap.
received with the most hearty approbation. In the
evening, a mob, composed in part of soldiers, threw
down the equestrian statue of George the Third
which stood in the BowUng Green, and the lead of
which it was formed was cut in pieces to be run
into bullets. The riot offended Washington, and was
rebuked in general orders.
On the same day which saw New York join the
union, the royal governor of Virginia left his moor-
age near Gwynn's island, where he had lingered from
the twenty-fourth of May in the constant hope of
relief Neglected by the troops which had passed
by him for the Carolinas, his last resource was in
the negroes whom he had enlisted; and of these,
five hundred, or about one half of the whole num-
ber, had perished from the small-pox and a malignant
ship-fever. He lay between the island and the main,
within range of two small batteries which had just
been finished. Lewis, who had had no part in their
construction, arrived just in time to put the match
to the first gun. Every shot struck Dunmore's ship,
and did such execution that the men soon refused to
stand to their guns ; not a breath of air was stirring,
but he was obliged to cut his cable, and trust to
the little tide to drift him from the shore. Of the
tenders, one was burnt and another taken. On
the eleventh the island was abandoned ; and the
ill-provided fleet rode at anchor near the mouth
of the Potomac. Here a gale sprung up, which
wrecked several of the small crafts, and drove a
sloop on shore, where it fell into the hands of " the
rebels." To disencumber himself of everything but
36 AMERICAN INDErENDENCE.
CHAP, the transports, the governor advised all those who
had placed themselves under his protection to seek
safety by flight; and they scattered immediately for
Great Britain, the West. Indies, and St. Augustine.
This confession of his inability to take care of those
who had come to him for refuge, when contrasted
with his passionate boastings and threats, exposed
him to contempt; his use of black allies inflamed
the southern colonies, without benefit to the crown.
Dunmore roved about for some weeks longer in
the waters of the Chesapeake, vainly awaiting help ;
but no hostile foot rested on the soil of Virginia,
when, on the twenty-fifth, the declaration of inde-
pendence was read in Williamsburg at the capitol,
the court-house, and the palace, or when it was pro-
claimed by the sheriff of each county at the door
of his courtrhouse on the first ensuing court-day.
In Rhode Island, it was announced successively at
Newport, East Greenwich, and Providence, where it
called forth loud huzzas for " free trade with all the
world, American manufactures, and the diffusion of
liberty o'er and o'er the globe." The thriving city
of Baltimore was illuminated for joy. At Ticonde-
roga, the soldiers under Saint Clair shouted with rap-
ture : " Now we are a free people, and have a name
among the states of the world." In Massachusetts,
the great state-paper was published from the pulpit
on a Lord's day by each minister to his congrega-
tion, and was entered at length on the records of
the towns. The assembly of South Carolina, while
they deplored "the unavoidable necessity" of inde-
pendence, accepted its declaration "with unspeak-
ably pleasure."
THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES. 37
Independence had sprung from the instructions chap.
of the people ; it was now accepted and confirmed
as their own work in cities and villages, in town-
meetings and legislatures, in the camp and the
training-field. The civilized world had the deepest
interest in the result; for it involved the reform of
the British parliament, the emancipation of Ireland,
the disinthralment of the people of France, the
awakening of the nations of Europe. Even Hungary
stretched forward to hear from the distance the
gladsome sound ; and Italians recalled their days of
unity and might Thirteen states had risen up, free
from foreign influence, to create their own civil
institutions, and join together as one. The report
went out among all nations, so that the effort, w^hat-
ever might follow, could never fade aw^ay from the
meniory of the human race.
The arrow had sped towards its mark, when Lord
Howe entered upon the scene with his commission
for restoring peace. As a naval officer, he added
great experience and nautical skill to a wholesome
severity of discipline and steady, cool, phlegmatic
courage. Naturally taciturn, his manner of expres-
sion was confused. His profile was like that of his
grandfather, George the First; his complexion was
very dark ; his grim features had no stamp of su-
periority ; but his face wore an expression of serene
and passive fortitude. He was as unsuspicious as
he was brave. Of an ingenuous disposition and a
good heart, he sincerely designed to act the part
of a mediator, not of a destroyer, and indulged in
visions of riding about the country, conversing with
its principal inhabitants, and restoring the king's
VOL. IX. 4
38 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, authority by methods of moderation and concession.
At Halifax he told Admiral Arbuthnot "that peace
would be made within ten days after his arrival.'*
His fond wish to heal the breach led ' him to mis-
conceive the extent of his commission. He thought
himself possessed of large powers, and with a sim-
plicity w^hich speaks for his sincerity, he did not
discover how completely they were circumscribed
or annulled. He could pardon individuals on their
return to the king's protection, and could grant an
amnesty to insurgent communities w^hich should lay
down their arms and dissolve all their governments.
The only further privilege which his long altercation
wrung from the ministry was a vague permission
to converse with private men on their alleged griev-
ances, and to report their opinions; but he could
not judge of their complaints or promise that "they
would be heeded; and he was strictly forbidden to
treat with the continental congress or any provin-
cial congress, or any civil or military officer holding
their commission.
It was the evening of the twelfth when Lord Howe
reached Staten Island. His brother, who had impa-
tiently expected him, was of the opinion " that a
numerous body of the inhabitants of New York,
the Jerseys, and Connecticut only waited for oppor-
tunities to prove their loyalty; but that peace could
not be restored until the rebel army should be de-
feated." Lord Howe had confidence in himself, and
did not lower his hopes. He had signed, while at
sea, a declaration which had been sketched by Wed-
derburn in England, and which was the counterpart
of his instructions. It announced his authority sep-
THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES. 39
arately, not less than jointly with his brother, to chap.
grant free and general pardons; and it promised
"due consideration to all persons who should aid
in restoring tranquillity." On this weak profession,
which virtually admitted that the king and parlia-
ment had no boon to offer except forgiveness on
submission, and no chance of obtaining advocates
for peace but by methods of corruption, he relied
for the swift and bloodless success of his mission.
The person with whom he most wished to hold
intercourse was the American commander-in-chief.
On the second day after his arrival, he sent a
white flag up the harbor, with a copy of his decla-
ration, enclosed in a letter addressed to Washington
as a private man. But Washington, apart from his
office, could not enter into a correspondence with
the king's commissioner ; and Reed and Webb, who
went to meet the messeno-er, followino- their instruc-
tions, declined to receive the communication. Lord
Howe was grieved at the rebuff; in the judgment
of congress, Washington " acted with a dignity be-
coming his station."
On the same day. Lord Howe sent a flag across
the Kill to Amboy, with copies of his declaration
in circular letters to all the old royal governors
south of New York, although nearly every one of
those governors was a fugitive. The papers fell
into the hands of Mercer, and through Washington
were transmitted to congress.
Lord Howe tried also to advance his purpose by
forwarding conciliatory letters written in England
to persons in America. Those which he had con-
certed with De Berdt, son of the old agent of
34 AMERICAN mDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, the enemy ; Woodhull, whose days were numbered,
could not hope to save his constituents from imme-
diate subjection ; Jay must prepare to see his aged
father and mother driven from their home at Rye,
and, with the sensitiveness and infirmities of age,
pine away and die as wanderers ; the men from Tryon
county, which then included all the western part
of the state, knew that their vote would let loose
the Indian with his scalping-knife along their border.
But they all wisely trusted in the unconquerable
spirit of those by whom they had been elected.
The leading part fell to Jay. On his report, the
convention with one voice, while they lamented
the cruel necessity for "independence, approved it,
and joined in supporting it at the risk of their
lives and fortunes." They directed it to be pub-
lished with the beat of drum at White Plains, and
in every district of the state ; empowered their del-
egates in congress to act for the happiness and the
welfare of the United States of America ; and named
themselves the representatives of the people of the
State of New York. By this decree the union of
the old thirteen colonies was consummated ; and
from that day New York, ever with the cup of
misery at her lips, remained true to her pledge.
In announcing independence to the generals and
the divisions of the continental army at distant posts,
the commander-in-chief attributed to the impulse of
necessity and the repetition of insufferable injuries
the dissolution of the connection with Great Britain ;
at the same time he asserted the perpetual claim of
the colonists to " the privileges of nature " and " the
rights of humanity." The declaration was read on
THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES. 35
the ninth to every brigade in New York city, and chap.
received with the most hearty approbation. In the
evening, a mob, composed in part of soldiers, threw
down the equestrian statue of George the Third
which stood in the BowUng Green, and the lead of
which it was formed was cut in pieces to be run
into bullets. The riot offended Washington, and was
rebuked in general orders.
On the same day which saw New York join the
union, the royal governor of Virginia left his moor-
age near Gwynn's island, where he had lingered from
the twenty-fourth of May in the constant hope of
relief Neglected by the troops which had passed
by him for the Carolinas, his last resource was in
the negroes whom he had enlisted; and of these,
five hundred, or about one half of the whole num-
ber, had perished from the small-pox and a malignant
ship-fever. He lay between the island and the main,
within range of two small batteries which had just
been finished. Lewis, who had had no part in their
construction, arrived just in time to put the match
to the first gun. Every shot struck Dunmore's ship,
and did such execution that the men soon refused to
stand to their guns; not a breath of air was stirring,
but he was obliged to cut his cable, and trust to
the little tide to drift him from the shore. Of the
tenders, one was burnt and another taken. On
the eleventh the island was abandoned ; and the
ill-provided fleet rode at anchor near the mouth
of the Potomac. Here a gale sprung up, which
wrecked several of the small crafts, and drove a
sloop on shore, where it fell into the hands of " the
rebels." To disencumber himself of everything but
36 AMERICAN INDErENDENCE.
CHAP, the transports, the governor advised all those who
had placed themselves under his protection to seek
safety by flight; and they scattered immediately for
Great Britain, the West . Indies, and St. Augustine.
This confession of his inability to take care of those
who had come to him for refuge, when contrasted
with his passionate boastings and threats, exposed
him to contempt; his use of black allies inflamed
the southern colonies, without benefit to the crown.
Dunmore roved about for some weeks longer in
the waters of the Chesapeake, vainly awaiting help ;
but no hostile foot rested on the soil of Virginia,
when, on the twenty-fifth, the declaration of inde-
pendence was read in Williamsburg at the capitol,
the court-house, and the palace, or when it was pro-
claimed by the sheriff of each county at the door
of his cour1>house on the first ensuing court-day.
In Rhode Island, it was announced successively at
Newport, East Greenwich, and Providence, where it
called forth loud huzzas for " free trade with all the
world, American manufactures, and the diffusion of
liberty o'er and o'er the globe." The thriving city
of Baltimore was illuminated for joy. At Ticonde-
roga, the soldiers under Saint Clair shouted with rap-
ture : " Now we are a free people, and have a name
among the states of the world." In Massachusetts,
the great state-paper was published from the pulpit
on a Lord's day by each minister to his congrega-
tion, and was entered at length on the records of
the towns. The assembly of South Carolina, while
they deplored "the unavoidable necessity" of inde-
pendence, accepted its declaration "with unspeak-
able pleasure."
THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES. 87
Independence had sprung from the instructions chap.
of the people ; it was now accepted and confirmed
as their own work in cities and villages, in town-
meetings and legislatures, in the camp and the
training-field. The civilized world had the deepest
interest in the result; for it involved the reform of
the British parliament, the emancipation of Ireland,
the disinthralment of the people of France, the
awakening of the nations of Europe. Even Hungary
stretched forward to hear from the distance the
gladsome sound ; and Italians recalled their days of
unity and might. Thirteen states had risen up, free
from foreign influence, to create their own civil
institutions, and join together as one. The report
went out among all nations, so that the effort, what-
ever might follow, could never fade away from the
memory of the human race.
The arrow had sped towards its mark, when Lord
Howe entered upon the scene with his commission
for restoring peace. As a naval officer, he added
great experience and nautical skill to a wholesome
severity of discipline and steady, cool, phlegmatic
courage. Naturally taciturn, his manner of expres-
sion was confused. His profile was like that of his
grandfather, George the First; his complexion was
very dark ; his grim features had no stamp of su-
periority; but his face wore an expression of serene
and passive fortitude. He was as unsuspicious as
he was brave. Of an ingenuous disposition and a
good heart, he sincerely designed to act the part
of a mediator, not of a destroyer, and indulged in
visions of riding about the country, conversing with
its principal inhabitants, and restoring the king's
VOL. IX. A
38 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, authority by methods of moderation and concession.
At Halifax he told Admiral Arbuthnot "that peace
would be made within ten days after his arrival."
His fond wish to heal the breach led ' him to mis-
conceive the extent of his commission. He thought
himself possessed of large powers, and with a sim-
plicity w^hich speaks for his sincerity, he did not
discover how completely they were circumscribed
or annulled. He could pardon individuals on their
return to the king's protection, and could grant an
amnesty to insurgent communities w^hich should lay
down their arms and dissolve all their governments.
The only further privilege which his long altercation
wrung from the ministry was a vague permission
to converse with private men on their alleged griev-
ances, and to report their opinions; but he could
not judge of their complaints or promise that they
would be heeded; and he was strictly forbidden to
treat with the continental congress or any provin-
cial congress, or any civil or military officer holding
their commission.
It was the evening of the twelfth when Lord Howe
reached Staten Island. His brother, who had impa-
tiently expected him, was of the opinion " that a
numerous body of the inhabitants of New York,
the Jerseys, and Connecticut only waited for oppor-
tunities to prove their loyalty; but that peace could
not be restored until the rebel army should be de-
feated." Lord Howe had confidence in himself, and
did not lower his hopes. He had signed, while at
sea, a declaration which had been sketched by Wed-
derburn in England, and which was the counterpart
of his instructions. It announced his authority sep-
THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES. 39
aratelj, not less than jointly with his brother, to chap.
grant free and general pardons; and it promised
" due consideration to all persons who should aid
in restoring tranquillity." On this weak profession,
which virtually admitted that the king and parlia-
ment had no boon to offer except forgiveness on
submission, and no chance of obtaining advocates
for peace but by methods of corruption, he relied
for the swift and bloodless success of his mission.
The person with whom he most wished to hold
intercourse was the American commander-in-chief.
On the second day after his arrival, he sent a
white flag up the harbor, with a copy of his decla-
ration, enclosed in a letter addressed to Washington
as a private man. But Washington, apart from his
office, could not enter into a correspondence with
the king's commissioner; and Reed and Webb, who
went to meet the messenger, following their instruc-
tions, declined to receive the communication. Lord
Howe was grieved at the rebuff; in the judgment
of congress, Washington " acted with a dignity be-
coming his station."
On the same day. Lord Howe sent a flag across
the Kill to Amboy, with copies of his declaration
in circular letters to all the old royal governors
south of New York, although nearly every one of
those governors was a fugitive. The papers fell
into the hands of Mercer, and through Washington
were transmitted to cono^ress.
Lord Howe tried also to advance his purpose by
forwarding conciliatory letters written in England
to persons in America. Those which he had con-
certed with De Berdt, son of the old agent of
40 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. Massachusetts, to Kinsey of New Jersey, and to
Reed of Pennsylvania, were public in their nature,
though private in their form, and were promptly
referred by their recipients to congress. In them
he suJBfered it to be said, that he had for two
months delayed sailing from England, in order to
obtain an enlargement of his instructions; that he
was disposed to treat; that he had power to com-
promise and adjust, and desired a parley with
Americans on the footing of friends. Reed, who
was already thoroughly sick of the contest, thought
" the overture ought not to be rejected ; " and
through Robert Morris he offered most cheerfully
to take such a part "on the occasion as his situ-
ation and abilities would admit."
The gloom that hung over the country was deep-
ening its shades; one British corps after another
was arriving ; the fleet commanded the waters of
New York, and two ships of war had, on the twelfth,
passed the American batteries with very little injury,
ascendino; the Hudson river for the encouraojement
of the disaffected, and totally cutting off all inter-
course by water between Washington's camp and
Albany. Greene had once before warned John
Adams of the hopelessness of the contest; and
again on the fourteenth, while facing the whole dan-
ger without dismay, he wrote : *' I still think you
are playing a desperate game." But as the claim
of absolute power by parliament to tax the colo-
nies and to change their charters was not renounced,
congress showed no wavering. *' Lord Howe," rea-
soned Samuel Adams, " comes with terms disgrace-
ful to human nature. If he is a good friend to
man, as letters import, I am mistaken if he is not
THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES. 41
weak and ductile. He has always voted, as I am chap.
told, in favor of the king's measures in parliament,
and at the same time professed himself a friend to
the liberties of America. He seems to me, either
never to have had any good principles at all, or not
to have presence of mind openly and uniformly to
avow them." Robert Morris surrendered his interest
and inclination to the ruling principle of his public
life, resolved as a good citizen to follow if he could
not lead, and thenceforward supported independence.
As the only answer to Lord Howe, congress, on the
nineteenth, resolved that its own great state-paper
of the fourth of July should be fairly engrossed on
parchment as " the unanimous declaration of the
thirteen United States of America," and signed by
every one of its members. In justification of this
act, it directed Lord Howe's circular letter and dec-
laration to be published, "that the good people of
these United States * may be informed of what na-
ture are the commissioners, and what the terms
with the expectation of which the insidious court
of Britain has endeavored to amuse and disarm
them ; and that the few who still remain suspended
by a hope, founded either in the justice or mod-
eration of their late king, may now, at length, be
convinced that the valor alone of their country is
to save its liberties.'*
Before this decision could reach Washington, he
had made his own opinions known. In reply to the
resolution of congress on the massacre of the pris-
oners who had capitulated at the Cedars, General
Howe had, on the sixteenth, sent him a note, ad-
dressed to him without any recognition of his official
4«
42 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, station. The letter was for that reason not received ;
I. . . '
and on the twentieth a second letter was rejected,
because its address was ambiguous ; but for the sake
of coming to some agreement respecting prisoners,
Paterson, its bearer, the British adjutant-general, was
allowed to enter th-e American camp. After pledg-
ing the word of the British commander to grant
to prisoners the eights of humanity and to punish
the officers who had broken their parole, he asked
to have his visit accepted as the first advance from
the commissioners for restoring peace, and asserted
that they had great powers. " From what appears,"
rejoined Washington, " they have power only to grant
pardons ; having committed no fault, we need no par-
don ; we are only defending what we deem to be our
indisputable rights."
To Franklin, as to a worthy friend. Lord Howe had
sent assurances that to promote lasting peace and
union formed "the great objects of his ambition."
Franklin, after consulting congress, answered : " By
a peace to be entered into between Britain and
America, as distinct states, j^our nation might recover
the greatest part of our growing commerce, with that
additional strength to be derived from a friendship
with us; but I know too well her abounding pride
and deficient wisdom. Her fondness for conquest,
her lust of dominion, and her thirst for a gainful
monopoly, will join to hide her true interests from
her eyes, and continually goad her on in ruinous
distant expeditions, destructive both of lives and
treasure.
"I have not the vanity, my lord, to think of
• intimidating by thus predicting the effects of this
THE THIIITEEN UNITED STATES. 43
war; for I know it will in England have the fate chap.
of all my former predictions, not to be believed till
the event shall verify it.
*^Long did I endeavor, with unfeigned and un-
wearied zeal, to preserve the British empire from
breaking. Your lordship may remember the tears
of joy that wet my cheek when, in London, you once
gave me expectations that a reconciliation might
soon take place. I had the misfortune to find those
expectations disappointed, and to be treated as the
cause of the mischief I was laboring to prevent.
My consolation under that groundless and malev-
olent treatment was, that I retained the friendship
of many of the wise and good men in that coun-
try, and, among the rest, some share in the regard
of Lord Howe.
" The well-founded esteem and affection which I
shall always have for your lordship makes it painful
to me to see you engaged in conducting a war, the
great ground of which, as expressed in your letter,
is Hhe necessity of preventing the American trade
from passing into foreign channels.' Ketaining a
trade is not an object for which men may justly
spill each other's blood ; the true means of securing
commerce is the goodness and cheapness of commod-
ities ; and the profit of no trade can ever be equal
to the expense of compelling it by fleets and armies.
"This war against us is both unjust and unwise:
posterity will condemn to infamy those who advised
it ; and even success will not save from some degree
of dishonor those who voluntarily engaged to con-
duct it. I know your great motive in coming hither
was the hope of being instrumental in a conciliation ;
44 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, and I believe that when you find that impossible
on any terms given you to propose, you will relin-
quish so odious a command."
On the thirtieth, Lord Howe received this reply,
which he well understood as expressing the opinion
of congress. His countenance grew more sombre ;
tears glistened in his eyes; he looked within him
self, and w^as conscious of aiming at a reconciliation
on terms of honor and advantage to both parties.
The truth began to dawn upon him, that he had
been deceived into accepting a commission which
gave him no power but to offer pardon, to hear
complaints, and to confirm the right of petition.
Sorrow entered his heart. Why should he, the great-
est admiral of his day, come against a distant people
whose few ships could not employ his genius; whose
hereditary good-will he longed not to forfeit; whose
English privileges he respected ; whose acknowledged
wrongs he desired to see redressed ? A manly and
generous nature found itself in a false position : his
honor as an officer was plighted to his king, and
he must promote the subjugation of America by
iirms.
CHAPTER n.
confederation; signing the declaration.
July — August 2, 1776.
The interview of the British adjutant-general with chap.
Washington led to one humane result. After the v^-^^-^
retreat from Concord in 1775, Gao-e consented to ^]^,^'
Julv
an exchange of prisoners; but of those who fell
into his hands at Bunker Hill, he wrote in August,
under a different influence, that "their lives were
destined to the cord." In December, Washington
insinuated to the successor of Gage a wish for a
cartel ; but Howe evaded the proposal, awaiting the
king's orders. From Quebec Carleton generously
dismissed his captives on their parole. Meantime
the desire to release the British officers who had
been taken by " the rebels," and still more a con-
sideration of the difficulties which might occur in
the case of foreign troops serving in America, led
the British minister, in February, 1776, to instruct
General Howe: "It cannot be that you should en-
ter into any treaty or agreement with rebels for
46 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, a regular cartel for exchange of prisoners, yet I
doubt not but your own discretion will suggest to
you the means of effecting such exchange without
the king's dignity and honor being committed, or
his majesty's name being used in any negotiation
for that purpose." The secretary's letter was re-
ceived in May at Halifax, and was followed by the
proposal in July to give up a citizen carried aw^ay
from Boston for a British subject held in arrest.
Congress, on the twenty-second, voted its approval;
and further empowered its commanders in each de-
partment to exchange prisoners of war: officer for
officer of equal rank, soldier for soldier, sailor for
sailor, and citizen for citizen. In this arrangement
Howe readily concurred ; .the choice of prisoners
was to be made by the respective commanders for
their own officers and men. On the part of the
United States the system was a public act of the
highest authority; on that of the British govern-
ment it had no more enduring sanction than the
good-w411 of the British general, and did not even
bind his successor. Interrupted by frequent alter-
cations, it nevertheless prevailed during the war,
and extended to captive privateers when they es-
caped impressment.
Union was the need of America. The draught of
confederation which, on the twelfth of July, w^as
brought into congress, was in the handwriting of
Dickinson, and had been begun before the end of
June. The farmer of Pennsylvania, dear to his
country for his Letters which had assisted to unite
America and conciliate the wisest statesmen of
England, was too delicately organized to take part
in the rough work of the heat of the day. He
CONFEDERATION; SIGNING THE DECLARATION. 47
was not to be found when the mihtia regiment of chap.
which he was colonel began its march. He fol-
lowed it on horseback as far as Trenton; but his
nerves were so much shattered that, after resting
there a day, he finished his journey to Elizabeth-
town in a carriage. He had been but ten days in
camp, when at the new election the Pennsylvania
convention superseded him as a delegate to con-
gress. Stung to the quick by the slight, he pro-
fessed to speak of it with rapture ; and then he
would liken the patriots who had opposed him to
tory traitors. He called on virtue to be his com-
forter, and pictured to his mind the beauty • of
dying for the defence and happiness of his unkind
countrymen. But with all his parade of exposing
his life to every hazard, and lodging within half a
mile of hostile troops, he never took part in hard
fighting, and making an excuse about rank, he left
the army in the moment of his country's greatest
danger.
The main hindrance to a strong confederation was
the innate unwillingness of the separate states to
give up power, combined with a jealousy of estab-
lishing it in other hands than their own. The
public mind is of slow growth, and had not yet
attained the wisdom necessary for regenerating its
government. The Dutch and Swiss confederacies
were the only models known to the people with
detail and precision. There was not at that time
one single statesman who fully comprehended the
need of the country ; but Dickinson, from his ti-
midity, his nice refining, his want of mastery over
his erudition, his hostility to independence, his in-
48 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, consolable grief at the overthrow of the proprietary
authority in Pennsylvania by the action of congress,
was peculiarly unfit to be the architect of a perma-
nent national constitution ; and in his zeal to guard
against the future predominance of the central power,
he exaggerated the imperfections, which had their
deep root in the history of the states.
For more than a century, and even from the
foundation of the settlements, almost every English
administration had studied to acquire the disposal
of their military resources and their revenues, w^hile
every American legislature had had for its con-
stant object the repression of the encroachments
of the crown. This antagonism, developed and con-
firmed by successive generations, had become the
quick instinct and fixed habit of the people. All
their patriotic traditions clustered round the story
of their untiring resistance to the establishment of
an overruling central force, and strengthened the
conviction of the inherent deadly hostility of such
a force to their vital principle of self-direction.
Each one of the colonies connected its idea of
freedom and safety with the exclusive privilege
of managing its internal policy ; and they delight-
ed to keep fresh the proud memories of repeated
victories won over the persistent attempt of the
agents of a supreme power, which was external to
themselves, to impose restrictions on their domestic
autonomy.
This jealousy of control from without concen-
tred on the subject of taxation. In raising a
revenue the colonies acknowledged in the king
no function whatever except that of addressing to
CONFEDERATION; SIGNING THE DECLARATION. 49
them severally a requisition; it was the great prin- chap.
ciple of their politics that to them alone belonged
the discretion to grant and collect aids by their
own separate acts. The confederacy now stood in
the place of the crown as the central authority,
and to that federal union the colonies, by general
concurrence, proposed to confide only the same
limited right. It was laid down as a fundamental
article, that "the United States assembled shall
never impose or levy any tax or duties," except
for postage ; and this restriction, such was the
force of habit, was accepted without remark. No
one explained the distinction between a sovereignty
wielded by an hereditary king in another hemi-
sphere, and a superior power which should be the
chosen expression of the will and reason of the
nation. The country had broken with the past in
declaring independence ; it went back into bondage
to the past in forming its first constitution.
The withholding from the United States of the
direct authority to raise a revenue was not peculiar
to Dickinson ; in all other respects his plan was
less efficient than that proposed the year before.
Experience had shown that colonies often failed to
be represented : Franklin's plan constituted one half
of the members of congress a quorum, and left
the decision of every question to the majority of
those who might be present; Dickinson knew only
" the United States assembled ; " counted every one
of them which might chance to be unrepresented
as a vote in the negative; required that not even
a trivial matter should be determined except by
the concurrence of seven colonies; and that meas-
VOL. IX. 6
50 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, ures of primary importance should await the assent
' — -Y — ' of nine, that is of two thirds of the whole. If eight
July ' states only were present, no question relating to
defence, peace, war, finances, army, or navy could
be transacted even by a unanimous vote ; nor could
a matter of smaller moment be settled by a major-
ity of six to two. By common consent congress
was the channel through which amendments to the
constitution were to be proposed : Franklin accepted
all amendments that should be approved by a ma-
jority of the state assemblies; Dickinson permitted
no change but by the consent of the legislature of
every state. No executive apparatus distinct from
the general congress could be detected in the sys-
tem. Judicial power over questions arising between
the states was provided for; and courts might be
established to exercise primary jurisdiction over
crimes committed on the high seas, with appellate
jurisdiction over captures; but there was not even
a rudimentary organ from which a court for exe-
cuting the ordinances of the confederacy could be
developed ; and as a consequence there existed no
real legislative authority. The congress could trans-
act specific business, but not enact general laws;
could publish a journal, but not a book of statutes.
Even this anarchical scheme, which was but the
reflection of the long-cherished repugnance to cen-
tral power, a reminiscence of the war-cries of
former times, not a creation for the coming age,
alarmed Edward Rutledge, who served with industry
on the committee with Dickinson. He saw danger in
the very thought of an indissoluble league of friend-
ship between the states for their general welfare;
CONFEDERATION; SIGNING THE DECLARATION. 51
saying privately, but deliberately : " If the plan now chap.
proposed should be adopted, nothing less than ruin ^ — ~^
to some colonies will be the consequence. The idea ^I^^*
of destroying all provincial distinctions, and making
everything of the most minute kind bend to what
they call the good of the whole, is in other terms
to say that these colonies must be subject to the
government of the eastern provinces. The force
of their arms 1 hold exceeding cheap, but I confess
I dread their overruling influence in council ; I dread
their low cunning, and those levelling principles
which men without character and without fortune
in general possess, which are so captivating to the
lower class of mankind, and w^hich w^ill occasion
such a fluctuation of property as to introduce the
greatest disorder. I am resolved to vest the con-
gress wdth no more power than what is absolutely
necessary, and to keep the staff in our own hands ;
for I am confident, if surrendered into the hands of
others, a most pernicious use will be made of it."
While the projected confederation was thus cav- y
illed at with morbid distrust, its details offered ques-
tions of difficult solution. Dickinson, assuming popu-
lation to be the index of wealth, proposed to obtain
supplies by requisitions upon each state* in propor-
tion to the number of its inhabitants, excepting
none but Indians not paying taxes. Chase moved
to count only the " white inhabitants ; " for " negroes
were property, and no more members of the state
than cattle." " Call the laboring poor freemen or
slaves," said John Adams, " they increase the wealth
and exports of the state as much in the one case
as in the other; and should, therefore, add equally
52 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, to the quota of its tax." Harrison of Yirginia pro-
posed as a compromise, that two slaves should be
counted as one freeman. "To exempt slaves from
taxation," said Wilson, " will be the greatest encour-
agement to slave keeping and the importation of
slaves, on w^hich it is our duty to lay every dis-
couragement. Slaves increase profits, which the
southern states take to themselves; they also in-
crease the burden of defence, which must fall so
much the more heavily on the northern. Slaves
prevent freemen from cultivating a country. Dis-
miss your slaves, and freemen will take their places."
"Freemen," said young Lynch of South Carolina,
"have neither the ability nor the inclination to do
the work that the negroes do. Our slaves are our
property; if that is debated, there is an end of
confederation. Being our property, why should they
be taxed more than sheep?" "There is a differ-
ence," said Franklin ; " sheep will never make insur-
rections." Witherspoon thought the value of lands
and houses was the true barometer of the wealth
of a people, and the criterion for taxation. Edward
Rutledge objected to the rule of numbers because
it included slaves, and because it exempted the
wealth to be acquired by the eastern states as car-
riers for the southern. Hooper of North Carolina
cited his own state as a striking exception to the
rule that the riches of a country are in proportion
to its numbers ; and commenting on the unprofit-
ableness of slave labor, he expressed the wish to
see slavery pass away. The amendment of Chase
was rejected by a purely geographical vote of
all the states north of Mason and Dixon's line
CONFEDERATION; SIGNING THE DECLARATION. 63
against all those south of it, except that Georgia chap.
was divided. The confederation could not of itself
levy taxes, and no rule for apportioning requisitions
promised harmony.
A second article which divided the states related
to the distribution of power in the general con-
gress. Delaware from the first bound her delegates
to insist that, "in declaring questions, each colony
shall have one vote ; " and that was the rule adopted
by Dickinson. Chase saw the extreme danger of a
hopeless conflict, and proposed as a compromise,
that in votes relating to money the voice of each
state should be proportioned to the number of its
inhabitants. Franklin insisted that they should be
so proportioned in all cases ; that it was unreasonable
to set out with an unequal representation ; that a
confederation on the iniquitous principle of allowing
to the smaller states an equal vote without their
bearing equal burdens could not last long. "All
agree," replied Witherspoon, " that there must and
shall be a confederation for this war; in the en-
lightened state of men's minds, I hope for a lasting
one. Our greatest danger is of disunion among
ourselves. Nothino- will come before cono-ress but
what respects colonies and not individuals. Every
colony is a distinct person ; and if an equal vote be
refused, the% smaller states will be vassals to the
larger." " We must confederate," said Clark of New
Jersey, "or apply for pardons." "We should settle
some plan of representation," said Wilson. John
Adams agreed w^th Franklin: "We represent the
people ; and in some states they are many, in others
they are few; the vote should be proportioned to
6*
54 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
numbers. The question is not whether the states
are now independent individuals, making a bargain
together, but what we ought to be when the bar-
gain is made. The confederacy is to make us one
individual only ; to form us, like separate parcels of
metal, into one common mass. We shall no longer
retain our separate individuality, but become a single
individual as to all questions submitted to the con-
federacy ; therefore all those reasons w^hich prove
the justice and expediency of a proportional repre-
sentation in other assemblies hold good here. An
equal vote will endanger the larger states; while
they, from their difference of products, of interest,
and of manners, can never combine for the oppres-
sion of the smaller." Rush spoke on the same
side : " We represent the people ; we are a nation ;
to. vote by states will keep up colonial distinctions ;
and we shall be loath to admit new colonies into
the confederation. The voting by the number of
free inhabitants will have the excellent effect of
inducing the colonies to discourage slavery. If we
vote by numbers, liberty will always be safe ; the
larger colonies are so providentially divided in situ-
ation as to render every fear of their combining
visionary. The more a man aims at serving Amer-
ica, the more he serves his colony: I am not plead-
ing the cause of Pennsylvania; I consider myself
a citizen of America." Hopkins of Ehode Island
spoke for the smaller colonies: "The German body
votes by states ; so does the Helvetic ; so does the
Belgic. Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and
Maryland contain more than half the people ; it
cannot be expected that nine colonies will give
CONFEDERATION; SIGNING THE DECLARATION. 55
way to four. The safety of the whole depends on chap.
the distinction of the colonies." "The vote," said
Sherman of Connecticut, " should be taken two
ways: call the colonies, and call the individuals,
and have a majority of both." This idea he proba-
bly derived from Jefferson, who enforced in pri-
vate as the means to save the union, that "any
proposition might be negatived by the representa-
tives of a majority of the people, or of a majority
of the colonies." Here is the thought out of which
the great compromise of our constitution was evolved.
Aside from the permanent question of taxation
and representation, what most stood in the way of
an early act of union was the conflict of claims to
the ungranted lands, which during the connection
with Great Britain had belonged to the king.
Reason and equity seemed to dictate that they
should inure to the common benefit of all the
states which joined to wrest them from the crown.
The complete transfer of ownership from the de-
throned authority to the general congress would,
however, have been at variance with the fixed and
undisputed idea, that each state should have the
exclusive control of its internal policy. It was
therefore not questioned that each member of the
confederacy had acquired the sole right to the
public domain within its acknowledged limits ; but
it was proposed to vindicate to the United States
the great territory northwest of the Ohio, by m-
vesting congress "with the exclusive power of lim-
iting the bounds of those colonies which were said
to extend to the South sea, and ascertaining the
bounds of any other that appeared to be inde-
56 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
terminate." Maryland, which had originally been
formed out of Virginia, retained a grudge against
the Old Dominion for its exorbitant appetite for
western territory ; and Chase spoke strongly for
the grant of power to limit the states. " Gentle-
men shall not pare away Virginia," said Harrison,
taking fire at the interference with its boundaries
as defined by the second charter of James the
First. Stone of Maryland came to the rescue of
his colleague : " The small colonies will have no
safety in the right to happiness, if the great colo-
nies are not limited. All the colonies defend the
lands against the king of Great Britain, and at
the expense of all. Does Virginia wish to estab-
lish quit-rents ? Shall she sell the lands for her
o^rn emolument ? I do not mean that the United
States shall sell them, to get money by them; we
shall grant them in small quantities, without quit-
rent, or tribute, or purchase-money." Jefferson
spoke against the proposed power as too great
and vague; and protested against the competency
of congress to decide upon the right of Virginia;
but he expressed the confident hope, "that the col-
onies would limit themselves." Unless they would
do so, Wilson claimed for Pennsylvania the right
to say she would not confederate.
The dispute developed gerins of delay; but all
divisions might at that time have been reconciled,
had the general scheme of confederation in itself
been attractive ; but its form was so complicate,
and its type so low, that it could not live. At
the outset the misshapen organism, the worthless
fruit of learning and refining and prejudice, struck
CONFEDERATION; SIGNING THE DECLARATION. 57
with paralysis the zeal for creating a government, chap.
Had such a scheme been at once adopted, the
war could not have been carried on ; but by a
secret instinct, congress soon grew weary of con-
sidering it, and postponed it, leaving the revolution
during its years of crisis to be conducted by the
more efficient existing union, constituted by the
instructions under which the delegates of the sev-
eral colonies were assembled, held together by the
necessities of war, and able to show energy of
w^ll by its acknowledgment of the right of the
majority to decide a question.
The country had, therefore, to fight the battles
of independence under the simple organization by
which it had been declared ; but preconceived no-
tions and the never-sleeping dread of the absorption
of the states interfered with the vigorous prosecution
of the war. Not a single soldier had been enlisted
directly by the United States; and the fear of a
standing army as a deadly foe to the liberties of the
people had thus far limited the enlistment of citizens
to short terms ; so that on the approach of danger
the national defence was committed to the ebb and
flow of the militia of the separate states. Thus
good discipline was impossible, and service insecure.
In the urgency of danger Washington made a
requisition on Connecticut for foot-soldiers; unable
to despatch infantry, Trumbull sent three regiments
of light horse, composed chiefly of heads of families
and freeholders, mounted on their farm-horses, armed
with fowling-pieces, without discipline, or compact-
ness, or uniformity of dress. Their rustic manners
were an object of ridicule to officers from the south,
58 AMERICAN INDErENDENCE.
CHAP, whom they in return scorned as " butterflies and
coxcombs." Washington could not furnish them
forage, and had no use for them as cavalry.
They consented to mount guard, though with re-
luctance ; but they persistently quoted the laws of
Connecticut in support of their peremptory demand
of exemption, from fatigue duty. Less than ten
days in camp wore out their patience; and at their
own request they were discharged.
The pride of equality prevailed among the offi-
cers. The instructions of cono;ress to Washino-ton
were by some interpreted to have made the deci-
sion of the council of war paramount to that of
the general in command. Every one insisted on
his own opinion, and was ready to question the
wisdom of those above him. In July, Crown Point
was abandoned by the northern army, on the con-
current advice of the general officers, against the
protest of Stark and twenty field-officers. Mean-
time Gates, though holding a command under
Washington, purposely neglected to make reports
to his superior; and when Washington saw fit to
"open the correspondence," and, after consulting his
council, "expressed his sorrow at the retreat from
Crown Point," Gates resented the interference. He
censured the behavior of Washington and his offi-
cers as " unprecedented," insisted that he and his
council were in "nothing inferior" to "their breth-
ren and compeers" of the council of the command-
er-in-chief, and transmitted to congress copies of
Washington's letter and his answer, with a declara-
tion that he and the generals with him "would
not be excelled in zeal or military virtue by any
CONFEDERATION; SIGNING THE DECLARATION. 69
of the officers, however dignified or distino-uished." chap.
. . ° . 11.
While Gates so hastily set himself up as the rival v^v — '
of Washington, he was intriguing with New Eng- 'JJi^'
land members of congress to supersede Schuyler,
and was impatient at the dilatoriness of his sup-
porters.
To these petty dissensions Washington opposed Aug.
his own public spirit. In the general order for the ^*
first of August he spoke for union : " Divisions
among ourselves most effectually assist our ene-
mies ; the provinces are all united to oppose the
common enemy, and all distinctions are sunk in
the name of an American." On the next day the 2
members of congress, having no army but a tran-
sient one, no confederation, no treasury, no supplies
of materials of war, signed the declaration of inde-
pendence, which had been engrossed on parchment
The first, after the President, to write his name was
Samuel Adams, to whom the men of that day as-
cribed " the greatest part in the greatest revolution
of the world." The body was somewhat changed
from that which voted on the fourth of July.
Chase was now present, and by his side Charles^
Carroll of Carrollton, a new member in whom the
long disfranchised Catholics of Maryland saw an em-
blem of their disinthralment. Wythe and Richard
Henry Lee had returned from Richmond; Dickinson
and two of his colleagues had made way for Cly- .
mer. Rush, and others ; Robert Morris, who had been
continued as a representative of Pennsylvania, now
joining heartily with John Adams and Jefferson
and Franklin, put his hand to the instrument, which
he henceforward maintained with all the resources
60 , AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, of his hopeful mind. Mackean was with the army,
and did not appear on the roll before 1781. For
New York, Philip Livingston and Lewis Morris
joined with Francis Lewis and William Floyd.
American independence was the work not of
one, or a few, but of all ; and was ratified not by
congress only, but by the instincts and intuitions
of the nation; just as the sunny smile of the ocean
comes from every one of its millions of waves.
The courageous and unselfish enthusiasm of the
people was an inexhaustible storehouse of means
for supporting its life ; the boundlessness of the
country formed its natural defence ; and the sel^
asserting individuality of every state and of every
citizen, though it forbade the organization of an
efficient government, with executive unity, imposed
on Britain the impossible task of conquering them
one by one.
CHAPTER III
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IN EUROPE.
July — October, 1776.
Since America must wao;e a war for existence as chap.
' . . . . . HI.
a nation without a compacted union, or an efficient
government, there was the more need of foreign
alliances. The maritime powers, which had been
pursued by England with overbearing pride till
they had been led to look upon her as their nat-
ural foe, did not wait to be entreated. On the
seventh of July, when there was danger of a rup-
ture between Spain and Portugal, Vergennes read
to the king in council his advice :
"The catholic king must not act precipitately;
for a war by land would make us lose sight of
the great object of weakening the only enemy
whom France can and ought to distrust. The
spirit and the letter of the alliance with Austria
promise her influence to hold back Russia from
falling upon the king of Sweden, or listening to
English overtures. In Holland it will be proper
VOL. IX. • 6
62 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, to reanimate the ashes of the too much neglected
republican party, and to propitiate favor for neu-
trality as a source of gain. The Americans must
be notified of the consequences which the actual
state of things presages, if they will but await its
development. As the English are armed in North
America, we cannot leave* our colonies destitute of
all means of resistance. The Isles of France and
Bourbon demand the same foresight. The English,
under pretence of relieving their squadron in the
Indies, w^ill double its force ; and such is their
strength in the peninsula of Hindostan, they might
easily drive us from Pondicherry and our colonies
if w^e do not prepare for defence. Time is pre-
cious; every moment must be turned to account,"
The well-considered policy of the French minister
was traversed „ by the arrival of Silas Deane. His
instructions had been drawn by Franklin, who,
from habitual circumspection, never needed to be
suspicious. They directed Deane to obtain informa-
tion of what was going forward in England, through
his old acquaintance, one Edward Bancroft, a native
of Connecticut, who, as an adventurer in quest of
fortune, had migrated back to the mother-country,
and had there gained some repute as a physician
and a naturalist. In 1769 he had published an
able and spirited pamphlet, vindicating the legislar
tive claims of the colonies ; and, under some super-
vision from Franklin, he had habitually written for
the "Monthly Review" notices of publications re-
lating to America. It was his avowed belief that
"every part of animated nature was created for its
own happiness only ; " and he accepted the post of
THE DECLAHATION OF INDEPENDENCE IN EUROPE. 63
a paid American spy, to prepare himself for the chap.
more lucrative • office of a double spy for the Brit-
ish ministers.
The French government was deliberating on the
methods of encouraging commerce with the United
Colonies. Replying to an inquiry of the comptrol-
ler-general, Vergennes, ofi the tenth, advised to
admit their ships and cargoes without exacting
duties or applying the restrictive laws on their
entry or departure ; so that France might become
the emporium of their commerce with other Euro-
pean nations. "Take every precaution," so he
admonished his colleague, "that our motives, our
mtentions, and, as far . as possible, our proceedings,
may be hidden from the English."
The attempt at concealment was vain. On the ii.
eleventh, Vergennes admitted Deane to an inter-
view. Reservino; for the kino;'s consideration the
question of recognising the independence and pro-
tecting the trade of the United Colonies, he lis-
tened with great satisfaction to the evidences of
their ability to hold out against British arms to
the end of the year, and gave it as his private
opinion that, in case they should reject the sove-
reignty of his Britannic majesty, they might count
on the unanimous good wishes of the government
and people of France, whose interest it would not
be to see them reduced by force. Received again 20
on the twentieth, Deane made a formal request for
two hundred light brass field-pieces, and arms and
clothing for twenty-five thousand men. The arms
were promised ; Du Coudray, a distinguished engi-
neer, who had given lessons to Count d'Artois, and
64 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, who wished to serve in America, was employed to
select from the public arsenals cannon of the old
pattern that could be spared; and Beaumarchais,
whom Vergennes authoritatively recommended, of-
fered merchandise on credit to the value of three
millions of livres. The minister did not suspect
that congress had committed its affairs to a man
who was wanting in discernment and integrity.
But Deane called over Bancroft as if he had been
a colleague, showed him his letters of credence and
his instructions, took him as a companion in his
journeys to Versailles, and repeated to him exactly
all that passed in the interviews with the minister.
August. Bancroft returned to England, and his narrative for
the British ministry is a full record of the first
official intercourse between France and the United
States. The knowledge thus obtained enabled the
British ambassador to embarrass the shipment of
supplies by timely remonstrances; for the French
cabinet was unwilling to appear openly as the
complice of the insurgents.
The arrival of the declaration of independence
gave more earnestness to the advice of Vergennes.
31. On the last day of August he read to the king, in
committee with Maurepas, Sartine, SaintrGermain,
and Clugny, considerations on the part which
France should now take towards England : " Kuin
hangs over a state which, trusting to the good
faith of its rivals, neglects precautions for safety,
and disdains the opportunity of rendering its habit-
ual foe powerless to injure. England is without
question and by inheritance the enemy of France.
K to-day she veils her ancient jealousy under the
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IN EUROPE. 65
specious exterior of friendship, her desires and her chap.
principles are unchanged. She fears lest France — r-*^
should profit by. the truly singular opportunity to j^ [
take revenge for her frequent injustice, her out- si-
rages, and her perfidies; it would be a great mis-
take to flatter ourselves that, under a sense of
the beneficent moderation of the king, she will be
disposed in more quiet times to a corresponding
conduct. For this there is no guaranty in her in-
tense nationality of character, to which the feeblest
gleam of prosperity in France is an unsupportable
grief She regards our measures for restoring our
navy as an attack on the exclusive empire which
she arrogates over the seas, and her animosity is
restrained by nothing but a sense of danger or
a want of power. It is her constant maxim to
make war upon us, as soon as she sees us ready
to assume our proper place as a maritime power.
Left to herself, she will fall upon our marine,
taking the same advantages as in 1755. What
reparation have we thus far obtained for the af-
fronts that have been put upon us in India, and
the habitual violation of our rights at Newfound-
land under the clear and precise stipulations of
a solemn treaty ? Moreover, the English cruisers,
near the mouths of our harbors in America, have
committed violent acts in contempt of the flag of
the king. Do the English treat Spain with more
respect than France ? In the bosom of peace they
labor to form establishments in the centre of her
possessions, and excite savage nations to rise
against her. In the south of America, Portugal
openly attacks Spain ; England justifies her ally,
6»
66 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, whom she values more than a rich province ; and
V — r-^' nourishes the germ of this quarrel, in order to
Au^rust ^i^^^^ i^s development as may suit her ambition
31. and convenience. England has in America a nu-
merous army and fleet, equipped for prompt action;
if the Americans baffle her efforts, will not the
chiefs of the ministry seek compensation at the
expense of France or Spain ? Her conduct makes
it plain even to demonstration, that we can count
little upon her sincerity and rectitude ; still it is
not for me to draw the conclusion, that with a
power of so doubtful fideHty war is preferable to
a precarious peace, which can be no more than a
truce of uncertain duration. The object of these
reflections is, not to anticipate the resolution which
can come only from the high wisdom of the su-
preme authority, but only to present the motives
which may give it light.
" The advantages of a w^ar with England in
the present conjuncture prevail so eminently over
its inconveniences, that there is no room for a
comparison. What better moment could France
seize, to efface the shame of the odious surprise
of 1755, and all the ensuing disasters, than this,
when Entrland, ensrao^ed in a civil war a thousand
leagues off, has scattered the forces necessary for
her internal defence ? Her sailors are in America,
not in ships of war only, but in more than four
hundred transports. Now that the United States
have declared their independence, there is no
chance of conciliation unless supernatural events
should force them to bend under the yoke, or the
English to recognise their independence. While
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IN EUROPE. 67
the war continues between the insurgents and the chap.
. . in.
English, the American sailors and soldiers, who in
the last war contributed to make those enormous
conquests of which France felt so keenly the hu-
miliation, will be employed against the English,
and indirectly for France.
"The war will form between France and North
America a connection which will not grow up and
vanish with the need of the moment. No interest
can divide the two nations. Commerce will form
between them a very durable, if not an eternal,
chain ; vivifying industry, it will bring into our
harbors the commodities which America formerly
poured into those of England, with a double ben-
efit, for the augmentation of our national labor
lessens that of a rival.
"Whether wa.r aorainst Eno;land would involve a
war on the continent deserves to be discussed.
The only three powers whom England could take
into her pay are Austria, Prussia, and Russia. The
last of these will not come to attack France and
Spain with her armies; should she send ships of
war, it would only make a noise in the news-
papers ; if she should attempt a diversion by a war
on Sweden, France must at any rate have war
with England, for England would never suffer a
French fleet to prescribe laws in the Baltic. The
alliance between France and Austria, and the un-
limited love of the empress queen for peace, guar-
antee her neutrality. The mutual distrust of the
courts of Vienna and Berlin will keep them both
from mixing in a war between the house of Bour-
bon and England. The republic of Holland, having,
OS AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, beyond all other powers, reason to complain of the
^.^^^ — ' tyranny of the English in all parts of the globe,
Au<ru8t ^^^^^^ ^^^^ their humiliation, and would regard
31. the war on the part of France as one of conserva-
tion rather than of conquest. As it is the dearest
desire of the king, in conformity to his principles,
to establish the glory of his reign on justice and
peace, it is certain that if his majesty, seizing a
unique occasion which the ages will perhaps never ^
reproduce, should succeed in striking England a
blow sufficient to lower her pride and to confine
her pretensions within just limits, he will for many
years be master of peace, and without displaying
his power, except to make order and peace every-
where reign, he will have the precious glory of
becoming the benefactor, not of his people only,
but of all the nations.
"The fidelity and the oath of a zealous minister
oblige him to explain frankly the advantages and
the inconveniences of whatever policy circumstances
may recommend ; this is the object of the present
memoir; this duty fulfilled, nothing remains but
to await in respectful silence the command which
may please the wisdom of the king.
"Should his majesty, on the other hand, prefer
a doubtful and ill-assured peace to a war which
necessity and reason can justify, the defence of
our possessions will exact almost as great an ex-
penditure as war, without any of the alleviations
and resources which war authorizes. Even could
we be passive spectators of the revolution in North
America, can we look unmoved at that which is
preparing in Hindostan, and which will be as fatal
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IN EUROPE. 89
to US as that in America to England? The revo- ^\\^^'
lution in Hindostan, once begun, will console En- ^ — •
gland for her losses, by increasing her means and Aucrust
her riches tenfold. This we are still able to pre- 3i.
vent"
The words of Yergennes were sharp and pene-
trating; now that Turgot and Malesherbes were
removed, he had no antagonist in the cabinet ;
his comprehensive policy embraced all parts of the
globe; his analysis of Europe was exact and just;
his deference to the king of two-and-twenty re-
moved every appearance of presumption ; but the
young prince whose decision was invoked was too
weak to lead in affairs of magnitude ; his sluggish
disposition deadened every impulse by inertness;
his devotion to the principle of monarchical power
made him shrink from revolution; his intuitions,
dim as they were, repelled all sympathy with in-
surgent republicans; his severe probity struggled
against aggression on England ; with the utmost
firmness of wuU of which his feeble nature was
capable, he was resolved that the peace of France
should not be broken in his day. But deciding
firmly against war, he shunned the labor of fur-
ther discussion ; and indolently allowed his minis-
ters to aid the Americans, according to the prece-
dents set by England in Corsica.
Meantime, Beaumarchais, with the connivance of Sept
Vergennes, used delicate flattery to awaken in the
cold breast of the temporizing Maurepas a passion
for glory. The profligate Count d'Artois, younger
brother of the king, and the prodigal Duke de
Chartres, better known as the Duke of Orleans,
70 AMERICAN mDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, innovators in manners, throwing aside the stiff
etiquette and rich dress of former days for the
English fashion of plain attire, daring riders and
charioteers, eager patrons of the race-course, which
was still a novelty in France, gave their voices for
war with all the pride and levity of youth. The
Count de Broglie was an early partisan of the
Americans. A large part of the nobihty of France
panted for an opportunity to tame the haughtiness
of England, which, as they said to one another,
after having crowned itself with laurels, and grown
rich by conquests, and mastered all the seas, and
insulted every nation, now turned its insatiable
pride against its own colonies. First among these
was the Marquis de Lafayette, then just nineteen,
master of two hundred thousand livres a year, and
happy in a wife who had the spirit to approve his
enthusiasm. He whispered his purpose of joining
the Americans to two young friends, the Count de
Segur and the Viscount de Noailles, who wished,
though in vain, to be his companions. At first
the Count de Broglie opposed his project, saying:
"I have seen your uncle die in the wars of Italy;
I was present when your father fell at the battle
of Minden ; and I will not be accessory to the ruin
of the only remaining branch of the family." But
when it appeared that the young man's heart was
enrolled, and that he took thought of nothing but
how to join the flag of his choice, the count re-
spected his unalterable resolution. Beside disinter-
ested and chivalrous volunteers, a crowd of selfish
adventurers, officers who had been dropped from
the French service under the reforms of Saint-
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IN EUROPE. 71
Germain, and even Swiss and Germans, thronged chap.
Deane's apartments in quest of employment, and
by large promises, sturdy importunity, or real or
pretended recommendations from great men, wrung
from him promiscuous engagements for high ramk
in the American army.
In Spain, the interest in America was confined Sept.-
to the court. Like Louis the Sixteenth, the cath- ^^^
olic king was averse to hostile measures ; his chief
minister wished not to raise up a republic on the
western continent, but only to let England worry
and exhaust herself by a long civil war. Ameri-
can ships were received in Spanish harbors, and
every remonstrance was met by the plea that they
hoisted English colors, and that their real character
could not be known. Even the privateers fitted
out at Salem, Cape Ann, and Newburyport hovered
off the rock of Lisbon and Cape St. Vincent, or
ventured into the Bay of Biscay, sure of not being
harmed when they ran -into Corunna or Bilbao;
but Grimaldi adhered strictly to the principle of
wishing no change in the relation of the British
colonies to their parent country; being persuaded
that nothing could be more alarming to Spain
than their independence.
The new attitude of the United States changed
the relation of parties in England. The former
friends to the rights of Americans as fellow-subjects
were not friends to their separate existence; and
all parties were summoned, as Englishmen, to una-
nimity. The virtue of patriotism is more attractive
than that of justice ; and the minority opposed to
the government, dwindling almost to nothing, was
72 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, now to have against them king, lords, and com«
mons, nearly the whole body of the law, the more
considerable part of the landed and mercantile
interests, and the political weight of the church.
The archbishop of Canterbury, in his proclamation
for a fast, to be read in all the churches, charged
the " rebel " congress with uttering " specious
falsehoods;" in a commentary on the declaration
of independence, Hutchinson/ referred its origin to a
determined design formed in the interval between
the reduction and the cession of Canada ; the young
Jeremy Bentham, un warmed by hope, misled by his
theories, rejected the case of the insurgents as
"founded on the assumption of natural rights,
claimed without the slightest evidence for their
existence, and supported by vague and declam-
atory generalities." Yet the reflective judgment
of England justifies America with almost perfect
accord. The revolution began in the attempt of
the British government to add to the monopoly
of the commerce of the colonies their systematic
taxation by parliament, so that the king might
wield with one sovereign will the forces of the
whole empire for the extension of its trade and
its dominion. On this issue all English statesmen
now approve the act of independence. Even in
that day, Charles Townshend's policy of taxes in
1767 was condemned by Mansfield and Jenkinson,
not less than by Camden and Burke, as "the most
absurd measure that could possibly be imagined ; '*
the power of parliament to tax colonies was already
given up in the mind of parliament itself, and was
soon to be renounced by a formal act.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IN EUROPE. 73
Blood was first shed in the attempt to enforce chap.
the alterations in the charter of Massachusetts. w->— /
The few English statesmen who took the trouble ^^ '
to understand the nature of the change pronounced Oct
it a useless violation of a time-hallowed constitu-
tion. But the British parliament has never abdi-
cated the general power over charters; it has,
from that day to this, repeatedly exercised the
function of granting, revoking, and altering the
fundamental law of British colonies; and has in-
terfered in their internal affairs to regulate the
franchises of English emigrants; to extend civil
privileges to semi-barbarous races ; to abolish the
slave-trade ; and to set free the slave.
The conquest of the United States presented
appalling difficulties. The task was no less than
to recover by force of arms the vast region which
lies between Nova Scotia and Florida; the first
campaign had ended in the expulsion of the Brit-
ish from New England ; the second had already
been marked by the repulse from South Carolina,
and by delays. The old system of tactics was out
of place ; nor could the capacity of the Americans
for resistance be determined by any known rule
of war; the depth of their passions had not been
fathomed : they will long shun an open battle-
ground ; every thicket will be an ambuscade of
partisans ; every stone wall a hiding-place for sharp-
shooters; every swamp a fortress; the boundless
woods an impracticable barrier; the farmer's house
a garrison. Wherever the armies go, food and
forage and sheep and cattle will disappear before
them ; a country over which the invaders may
VOL. IX. 7
74 • AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. ^
CHAP, march in victory will rise up in their rear \^ith
> — Y — ' life and elasticity. Nothing is harder than to beat
g^ ^J down a people who are resolved never to yield;
Oct and of all persons the English themselves were
the least suited to abridge the liberties of their
own colonies.
"Can Britain fxil?" asked the poet-laureate of
England in his birthday ode. "Every man," said
the wise political economist Tucker, "is thoroughly
convinced that the colonies will and must become
independent some time or other; I entirely agree
with Franklin and Adams, to make the separation
there is no time like the present." David Hume
from his death-bed advised his country to give
up the war with America, in which defeat would
destroy its credit, and success its liberties. "A
tough business, indeed," said Gibbon ; " they have
passed the Rubicon, and rendered a treaty infinitely
more difficult; the thinking friends of government
are by no means sanguine." It was known that
Lord North had declared his intention to resign if
his conciliatory proposition should fail. Lord George
Germain, who had been assured by refugees that
if the king's troops, in the course of the campaign,
would alarm the rebels in their rear from Canada
and the Ohio, they would submit by winter to the
attack from the side of the sea, was embittered
against the admiralty for having delayed the em-
barkations of troops, and against Carle ton for his
lenity and slowness. "The more money you spend
as a naval power the better," said the British
secretary at war to Garnier; "it will all be thrown
away." " How so ? " retorted Garnier ; " is not France
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IN EUROPE. 75
bounded on both seas, from Dunkirk to Antibes?" chap.
But if Barrington did not fear France upon the
ocean, the colonial policy of England involved him
in difficulties affecting his conscience and his char- Oc:t
acter. " I have my own opinions in respect to the
disputes in America," said he imploringly to the
king ; " I am summoned to meetings, where I some-
times think it my duty to declare them openly
before twenty or thirty persons; and the next day
I am forced either to vote contrary to them, or to
vote with an opposition which I abhor." Yet when
the king chose that he should remain secretary at
war and member of the house of commons, he
added: "I shall continue to serve your majesty in
both capacities." The prospect of the interference
of France excited in George the Third such rest-
less anxiety that he had an interview wdth every
Englishman of distinction who returned from Paris
or Versailles ; and he was impatient to hear from
America that General How^e had struck decisive
blows.
CHAPTER IV.
battle of long island.
August, 1776.
CHAP. It was the fixed purpose of Washington "to obey
^..^-^ imphcitly the orders of congress with a scrupulous
1776. exactness;" and he rejected "every idea of inter-
fering with the authority of the state of New
York." In obedience to their united wishes, he
attempted the defence of New York island. The
works for its protection, including the fortifications
in Brooklyn, were planned by Lee in concert with
a New York committee and a committee from con-
gress. Jay thought it proper to lay Long Island
waste, burn New York, and retire to the impreg-
nable Highlands; but as it was the maxim of con-
gress not to give up a foot of territory that could
possibly be held, Washington promised "his utmost
exertions under every disadvantage;" "the appeal,"
he said, "may not terminate so happily as I could
, wish, yet any advantage the enemy may gain, I
trust will cost them dear." To protect New York
BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 77
city he was compelled to hold Kingsbridge, Govern- chap.
or's island, Paulus-hook, and the heights of Brook- v^v^
lyn. For all these posts, divided by water, and ^^J^^*
some of them fifteen miles apart, he had in the
first week of August but ten thousand five hun-
dred and fourteen men fit for duty. Of these,
many were often obliged to sleep without cover,
exposed to the dews. There was a want of good
physicians, medicines, and hospitals ; more than
three thousand lay sick ; their number was increas-
ing; they were to be seen seeking shelter in
every barn or stable or shed, and sometimes *
nestling in thickets and beside fences.
Of the effective men, less than six thousand had
had any experience ; and none had seen more than
one year's service. Some were wholly without arms ;
not one regiment of infantry was properly equipped.
The regiment of artillery, five hundred and eighty-
eight in number, including officers, had no skilled
gunners or engineers. Knox, its colonel, had been
a Boston bookseller. Most of the cannon in the
field-works were of iron, old and honey-combed,
broken and defective. The constant arrival and
departure of militia made good discipline impos-
sible. The government of New Jersey called out
one half of its militia, to be relieved at the end of
one month by the other half; but the call was little
heeded. "We shall never do well until we get a
regular army ; and this will never be until men
are enlisted for a longer duration; and that will
never be until we are more generous in our en-
couragement. Time alone will persuade us to this
measure ; and in the mean while we shall very indis-
7»
78 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, creetly waste a much greater expense than would
y^.^ — ' be necessary for this purpose, in temporary calls
lUutt ^P^^ ^^^ militia, besides risking the loss of many
lives and much reputation." So wTote John Adams,
the head of the board of war, a man of executive
ability, but sometimes misled by his own energy.
He rejected the thought of retiring from Long
Island, demanded of others zeal and hardihood
like his own, inclined to judge an army capable
of victory when orders for the supply of men had
gone forth, and never duly estimated the resist-
ing force of indifference and inexpertness. While
he cultivated confidential relations with Lee and
Gates, he never extended the same cordial frank-
ness to Washington, never comprehended his supe-
rior capacity for war, and never weighed his diffi-
culties with generous considerateness. Moreover,
congress was always ready to assume the conduct
of the campaign, and to issue impracticable resolu-
tions. To Gates it intrusted a limited power of
filling up vacancies as they occurred in his army ,
but it refused to grant the same authority to the
commander-in-chief, saying : " Future generals may
make a bad use of it." The natural modesty of
Washington, and his sense of his* imperfectness in
the science and practice of war, led him to listen
with thoughtful attention to the suggestions of
others; while his comprehensive vigilance, unwea-
ried close attention, and consummate reflective
powers were fast bringing out the qualities of
a great commander. Among the major-generals
around him, there w^as not one on whom he could
fully rely. As yet the military judgment of Greene
BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 79
was crude. Th^ brigadiers were untrained, and chap.
some of them without aptitude for service. Poor ^ — >r-^
as had been his council at Cambridge, that in New j^^^„^^
York was worse. The general officers, whose ad-
vice his instructions bound him to ask, knew not
enough of war to rightly estimate danger; and the
timid, and the time-serving who had their eyes
on congress, put on the cheap mask of courage
by spirited votes.
, On the fifth of August, at the darkest moment,
Trumbull wTote from Connecticut : " Notwithstand-
ing our enemies are numerous, yet knowing our
cause righteous, and trusting Heaven will support
us, I do not greatly dread what they can do against
us." On the seventh, Washington answered : " To
trust altogether in the justice of our cause, without
our own utmost exertions, would be tempting Prov- j
idence;" and he laid bare the weakness of his ^
army. On receiving this letter, Trumbull convened
his council of safety. Five regiments from the
counties of Connecticut nearest New York had
already been sent forward ; he ' called out nine
regiments more, and exhorted those not enrolled
in any trainband to volunteer : " Be roused and
alarmed to stand forth in our just and glorious
cause. Join yourselves to some one or other of
the companies of the militia now ordered to New
York, or form yourselves into distinct companies,
and choose captains forthwith. March on : this
shall be your warrant. Play the man for God
and for the cities of our God : may the Lord of
hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, be your
leader." At these words, the farmers, though their
80 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, harvest was but half gathered, their meadows half
< — r-^^ cut, their chance of return in season to sow their
Aulifst S™^ before winter uncertain, rose instantly in
arms, forming nine regiments each of three hun-
dred and fifty men, and, self-equipped, marched to
New York, just in time to meet the advance of
the British. True, their arms were ill-suited for
the day of battle, their habits of life too stiff for
military discipline, their term of service too short
for becoming soldiers, so that they were rather a
rally of the people than a division of an army;
but they brought to their country's defence the
best will and all that they could offer, and their
spirit evinced the existence of a nation.
In like manner, in New York, where two thirds
of the men of wealth kept aloof from the struggle,
or sided with the enemy, the country people turned
out of their harvest-fields with surprising alacrity,
leaving their grain to perish for want of the sickle.
The body thus suddenly levied in New York, the
nine regiments from Connecticut, the Maryland
regiment and companies, the regiment of Dela-
wares, and two more battalions of Pennsylvania
riflemen, raised the number of men fit for duty
under Washington's command to about seventeen
thousand ; but most of them were fresh from rustic
labor, ill-armed or not armed at all, and, from
ignorance of life in camp, prone to disease.
In spirited orders that were issued from day to
day, the general mixed counsel with animating
words. He bade them " remember that liberty,
property, life, and honor were all at stake ; " that
they were fighting for everything that can be
BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 81
dear to freemen ; that Heaven would crown with chap.
success so just a cause. To the brave he promised ^ — y — •
rewards ; the coward who should skulk m time of ^utrusu
battle, or retreat without orders, he threatened
with instant death; and he summoned all to re-
solve to conquer or die.
To baffle the ministerial plan of separating New
England from the Middle states by the junction of
the army of Canada with Howe, the command of
the Hudson must be maintained. The New York
convention dwelt anxiously on this idea; the sur-
vey of the river, at a point about two miles and
a half below Kingsbridge, was made by Putnam
and Mifflin ; and Putnam undertook to complete
the obstruction of the channel by a scheme of
his own. In connection with this object, he was
an advocate for building a fort on the height now
known as Fort Washington ; and he thought the
position, if properly fortified, was in itself almost
impregnable, without any regard to the heights
above the bridge.
Of the batteries by which New York was pro-
tected, the most important was the old Fort George
on the south point of the island ; a barrier crossed
Broadway near the Bowling Green ; a redoubt was
planted near the river, west of Trinity church ;
another, that took the name of Bunker hill, near
the site of the present Centre market. Earthworks
were thrown up here and there along the East
and Hudson rivers within the settled parts of the
town, and at the northern end of the island, on
hills overlooking Kingsbridge ; but many interme-
diate points, favorable for landing, were defenceless.
82 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. Two regiments, one of which was Prescott's, were
^ — Y — ' all that could be spared to garrison Governor's
August, l^^and-
The American lines in Brooklyn, including an-
gles, and four redoubts which mounted twenty
large and small cannon, ran for a mile and a half
from Wallabout bay to the marsh of Gowanus cove ;
they were defended by ditches and felled trees; the
counterscarp and parapet were fraised with sharp-
ened stakes. A fortress of seven o;uns crowned
Brooklyn heights. The entrance into the East river
was guarded by a battery of five guns at Red-hook.
Six incomplete continental regiments, with two of
Long Island militia, constituted all the force with
which Greene occupied this great extent of works.
The expected British reenforcements had ar-
rived : the troops with Clinton and Cornwallis
on the first, and eleven days later more than
twenty-five hundred British troops from England,
and more than eighty-six hundred Hessians. Sir
Peter Parker had also come, bringing Campbell
and Dunmore, who with Tryon and Martin hoped
from victory their restoration to their governments.
On the fifteenth, the Hessians, who were in excel-
lent health after their long voyage, landed on
Staten Island, eager for Wiir. Before a conflict of
arms. Lord Howe once more proposed the often-
rejected plan of Lord North. To his messenger,
Lord Drummond, who had been allowed to leave
the country on conditions that he had broken,
Washington made no answer but by a rebuke for
his want of "that attention to his parole which
belongs to the character of a man of strict honor;"
BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 83
and lest the sight of the flag of truce should lull chap.
the army into a fatal security, on the twentieth >^-t-^
he announced, " that no offer of peace had been ^^.^
made, that the army might expect an attack as
soon as the wind and tide should prove favorable,
and that every mJin should prepare his mind and
his arms for action." To congress he on the same
day wrote frankly, that it would not be possible
to prevent the landing of the British on Long
Island ; " however," he said, " we shall attempt to
harass them as much as possible, which will be all
that we can do." Just at this time Greene became
ill of a raging fever, and owed his life to rest,
change of air, and the unwearied attention of Mor-
gan, his physician. The loss of his service was
irreparable ; for the works in Brooklyn had been
built under his eye, and he was familiar with the
environs. His place w^as, on the twentieth, assigned
to Sullivan.
Very heavy rains delayed the movements of the
British. About nine on the morning of the twen-
ty-second, the men-of-war moved near the shore in
Gravesend bay, to protect the landing of more
than fifteen thousand men, chiefly British troops,
from Staten Island. The En^clish and the Hit^rh-
landers, with the artillery, consisting of forty can-
non, w^ere the first to disembark ; last came Donop's
brigade of grenadiers and yagers, in large flat-boats,
standing in the clear sun, with their muskets in
hand, in line and order of battle. As it was at
first reported to Washington that the British in-
tended by a forced march to surprise the lines
84 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, at Brooklyn, lie at once reenforced them with six
v^v — ' regiments; before sending more, he waited to be
AufTust c^^'^^i^ t^^^ ^^^ enemy were not making a feint
upon Long Island, with the real design to fall
directly upon New York. The troops went off
in high spirits, and all the army was cheerful ;
but the inhabitants were struck with terror, and
could hardly be persuaded that their houses would
not be burnt in case of the retreat of the Amer-
ican army; women and children spread dismay by
their shrieks and wailing, and families deserted the
city, which they were not to revisit for seven years.
The main body of the British army spread itself
out upon the plain which stretches from Gravesend
bay towards the east; the country people could
offer no resistance ; the British camp was thronged
by farmers of the neighborhood, wearing badges of
loyalty and seeking protection ; while the patriots
took to flight, driving cattle before them, and
burning all kinds of forage. Cornwallis with the
reserve, two battalions of infantry and the corps
of Germans, advanced to Flatbush. Hand's Penn-
sylvania riflemen retired before him, burning stacks
of w^heat and hay on their march ; his artillery
drove the Americans from their slight barrier
within the village to the wooded heights beyond,
where in the afternoon they were strengthened by
fresh arrivals from the lines.
In the following days, during which Washington
divided his time between the two islands, encoun-
ters took place between the advanced parties of
the two armies; in these the American riflemen,
BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 85
poor as were their arms, proved their superiority chap.
as skirmishers ; on the twenty-fourth, Donop was
aimed at and narrowly escaped death.
On that day, Putnam, in right of his rank as
second to Washington, took the command on Long
Island, but with explicit instructions to guard the
passes through the woods; while the New York
congress sent independent orders to Woodhull, a
provincial brigadier, to* drive off the horses, horned
cattle, and sheep, and destroy the forage, which
would otherwise have fallen into the possession of
the enemy.
On the twenty-fifth, two more brigades of Hes- 25.
sians with Von Heister came over to Flatbush,
increasing the force of Howe on Long Island to
" upwards of twenty thousand " rank and file.^ It
was the most perfect army of that day in the
world, for experience, discipline, equipments, and
artillery ; and was supported by more than four
hundred ships and transports in the bay; by ten
ships of the line and twenty frigates, besides bomb-
ketches, galiots, and other small vessels. Among
them were the "Phoenix" and the "Rose," which,
after repeUing an attack from six American galleys
1 Howe, in the Observations an- 24,247, apart from the royalist force
nexed to his Narrative, p. 45, wrote under Brigadier De Lancey. MSS.
thus: "I landed upon Long Island in my possession from the British
with between 15,000 and 16,000 state-paper office. Sir George Col-
rank and file, having left the re- lier writes that the army with Howe
mainder of the army for the defence on Long Island *' amounted now to
of Staten Island ; my whole force upwards of 20,000, besides those
at that time consisted of 20,121 who remained on Staten Island."
rank and file, of which 1677 were Detail of Services by Sir George
sick.** It is charitable to suppose Collier in Naval Chronicle, xxxii.
that his memory was for the mo- 271. Sir George Collier was em-
ment confused ; on August 27, 1776, ployed at the time to cover the
his rank and file amounted to landing of the troops.
VOL. IX. 8
86
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
1776.
August
25.
in Tappan bay, and narrowly escaping destruction
by fire-ships, had taken advantage of a strong wind
and tide to descend the river and rejoin the fleet
Against this vast armament the Americans on the
island, after repeated reenforcements, were no more
than eight thousand men, most of whom were vol*
unteers or militia ; and they had not the aid of a
single platoon of cavalry, nor of one ship of war.
The unequal armies were kept apart by the ridge
which runs through Long Island to the southwest,
and, at the distance of two miles from the Amer*
lean lines, throws out to the north and south a
series of hills, as so many buttresses against the
bay. Over these very densely wooded heights,
which were steep and broken, three obvious routes
led from the British encampments to Brooklyn:
the one which followed a lane through a gorge
south of the present Greenwood cemetery, to a
coast-road from the bay to Brooklyn ferry, was
guarded by Pennsylvanian musketeers and riflemen
under Atlee and Kichline ; across the direct road
to Brooklyn the regiments of Henshaw of Massa-
chusetts and Johnston of New Jersey lay encamped,
at the summit of the ridge on Prospect hill over-
looking Flatbush ; while a third, the '' clove " road,
w^hich diverged from the second, and a little further
to the east descended into the village of Bedford,
was guarded chiefly by Connecticut levies, and
infantry from Pennsylvania. Besides these, three
miles to the east of Bedford, on a road from the
hamlet of Jamaica to Brooklyn, there was a pass
which seemed even more easy of defence than the
others. The whole number of the Americans sta-
BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 87
tioned on the coast-road and alonsj the ridoje as chap.
IV.
far as tlieir posts extended was not far from
twentj'-five hundred; and they were expected by
Washington, not so much to prevent the advance
of the British, as "to harass and annoy them in
their march."
On the twenty-sixth, Washington remained on 26.
Lono: Island till the evenino^. Putnam and Sullivan
visited the party that kept guard furthest to the
left, and the movements of the enemy plainly dis-
closed that it was their intention to get into the
rear of the Americans by the Jamaica road ; yet
" Washington's order to secure the Jamaica road
was not obeyed."
The plan of attack by General Howe was as
elaborate as if he had had to encounter an equal
army. A squadron of five ships under Sir Peter
Parker was to menace New York, and act with
effect against the right flank of the American
defences ; Grant with two brigades, a regiment of
Highlanders, and two companies of New York
provincials, was to advance upon the coast-road
toward Gowanus; the three Geniian brigades and
yagers, stationed half a mile in front of Flatbush,
in a line of nearly a mile in length, were to force
the direct road to Brooklyn; while, at the evening
gun, Howe, and much the larger part of the army,
under Clinton, Cornwallis, and Percy, with eighteen
field-pieces, leaving their tents and equipage be-
hind, moved from Flatlands across the country
through the New Lots, to turn the left of the
American outposts.
The American camp which was furthest to the
88 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, left in the woods was alarmed three times duriusc-
V— r — 'the mght; but each time the alarm died away.-
August ^^ three in the morning of the twenty-seventh,
27. Putnam was told that the picket which guarded ^
the approach to the coastrroad had been driven in ;
and without further inquiry he ordered Stirling,.
then a brigadier, with two regiments nearest at
hand, "to advance beyond the lines and repulse
the enemy." The two regiments that were chosen
for this desperate service were the large and well-
equipped one of Delawares and that of Maryland,
composed of the young sons of freeholders and
men of property from Baltimore and its neighbor-
hood, though the colonels and lieutenant-colonels
of both chanced to be absent on duty in New
York city. They were followed by Huntington's
regiment of two hundred and fifty men from Con-
necticut, under the lead of Parsons, a lawyer of
that state, who eighteen days before had been
raised from the bar to the rank of brigadier.
Putnam's rash order, directing Stirhng to stop the
approach of a detachment which might have been
" ten times his number," left him no discretion.
The position to which he was sent was dangerous
in the extreme. His course was oblique, incHning
to the right; and this movement, relinquishing his
direct communication with the camp, placed in his
rear a marsh extending on both sides of Gowanus
creek, which was scarcely fordable even at low
tide, and was crossed by a bridge and a causeway
that served as a dam for one of two tide-mills;
on his left he had no connecting support; in front
he had to encounter Grant's division, which outnum-
IV.
BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 89
bered him four to one; and on his right he had chap.
the bay, commanded by the fleet of Lord Howe
About where now runs Nineteenth street in Brook-
lyn, he formed his line along a ridge from the left
of the road to woods on a height now enclosed
within the cemetery and known as Battle hill
Two field-pieces, all that he had to oppose against
ten, were placed on the side of the hill so as to
command the road and the only approach for some
hundred yards. He himself occupied the right,
which was the point of greatest danger; Atlee and
Kichline formed his centre ; Parsons commanded
the left.
Early in the morning Putnam was informed that
infantry and cavalry were advancing on the Ja-
maica road. He gave Washington no notice of
the danger; he sent Stirling no order to retreat;
but Sullivan went out with a small party, and
took command of the regiments of Henshaw and
Johnston.
The sun rose with an angry red glare, forebod-
ing a change of weather; the first object seen
from New York was the squadron of Sir Peter
Parker attempting to sail up the bay as if to
attack the towm ; but the wdnd veering to the
northward, it came to anchor at the change of
tide, and the "Roebuck" was the only ship that
fetched high enough to exchange shot with the
battery at Eed-hook. Relieved from apprehension
of an attack on the city, Washington repaired to
Long Island; but he rode through the lines only
in time to witness the disasters which were be-
come inevitable.
8«
90 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
The van of the British army under Clinton,
guided by tory farmers of the neighborhood, hav-
Aunrust ^"o captured a patrol of American officers in the
27. night and learnt that the Jamaica pass was not
occupied, gained the heights on the first appear-
ance of day. The whole force with Howe, after
passing them without obstruction, and halting to
give the soldiers time for refreshment, renewed its
march. At half-past eight, or a little later, it
* reached Bedford, in the rear of the American left,
and the signal was given for a general attack.
At this moment the whole force of the Americans
on Long Island was but about eight thousand,^ less
rather than more ; of these only about four thou-
sand, including all who came out with Stirling and
Sullivan, were on the wooded passes in advance
of the Brooklyn lines. They were environed by
the largest British army which appeared in the
field during the war. Could the American parties
have acted together, the disproportion would yet
have been more than five to one; but as they
were disconnected, and were attacked one by one,
and were routed in a succession of skirmishes, the
disproportion was too great to be calculated. The
1 I make this statement of the land." Almon's Debates, xili. 9.
force under Putnam after a very General Robertson testifies that he
laborious examination of all the believed Howe at the time was not
returns which I could find. The aware of the weakness of the Amer-
rodomontade of Howe, Almon's De- icans ; and, from what he had heard
bates, xi. 349, is repeated by Sted- since, he estimates them to have
man, i. 194. But in 1779 testimo- been seven thousand; whom, how-
ny was taken on the subject be- ever, he divides between the lines
fore the British house of commons; and the hills in a very strange man-
Lord Cornwallis, answering as a ner. Almon, xiii. 314. Montresor's
■witness, says: "It was reported estimate was eight to ten thousand,
they [the Americans] had six or Almon, xiii. 54. But Cornwallis is
eight thousand men on Long Is- the best witness.
BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 91
regiments on the extreme left did not perceive chap.
their danger till the British had turned their flank ;
they were the first to fly, and they reached the
lines, though not without grievous losses. The
regiment of Ward of Connecticut, which made
its way seasonably by the mill-pond, burned the
bridge as it passed, unmindful of those who were
to follow.
When the cannonading from the main army and
the brigades under Grant was heard, the Hessians,
with flying colors and music of drums and haut-
boys, moved up the ridge, the yagers under Donop
and some volunteers going in advance as flanking
parties, and clearing the way with their small
cannon ; the battalions followed, not after the Euro-
pean tactics, but, on account of the hills and valleys
where three men could not march abreast, with
a widely extended front, and in ranks but two
deep, using only the bayonet. At first Sullivan's
party fired with nervous rapidity, and too high,
doing little injury ; then, on becoming aware of
the danger on their flank and rear, they turned
to retreat. The Hessians took possession of their
deserted redoubt, its three brass six-pounders, one
howitzer, and two baggage-wagons, and chased the
fugitives relentlessly through the thickets. The
Americans, stopped on their way by British regi-
ments, were thrown back upon the Hessians. For
a long time the forest rung with the cries of the
pursuers and the pursued, the crash of arms, the
noise of musketry and artillery, the notes of
command given by trumpets and hautboys ; the
ground was strewn with the wounded and the
92 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. dead. Here and there a Hessian found amuse-
IV. .....
ment in pinning with his bayonet a rifleman to
a tree ; the British soldiers were equally merciless.
The Jersey militia fought well, till Johnston, their
colonel, was shot in the breast, after showing the
most determined courage. Sullivan, seeing himself
surrounded, desired his men to shift for themselves.
Some of them, fighting with desperate valor, cleaved
a passage through the British to the American
lines; others, breaking into small parties, hid
themselves in the woods, from which they escaped
to the lines, or were picked up as prisoners.
Sullivan concealed himself in a field of maize,
where he was found by three of Knyphausen's
grenadiers.
The contest was over at the east and at the
.centre. Near the bay, Stirling still maintained
his position, inspiring his men with hatred of the
thought of retiring before Grant, who in the house
of commons had insulted the Americans as cow-
ards. Lord Howe, having learned that Grant's
division, which halted at the edge of the woods,
was in want of ammunition, went himself with a
supply from his ship, sending his boat's crew with
it on their backs up the hill, while further supplies
followed from the store-ships. Early in the day,
Parry, lieutenant-colonel under Atlee, was shot in
the head as he was encouraging his men. Parsons,
thinking it time to retreat, left his men in quest
of orders ; he was intercepted, concealed himself in
a swamp, and came into camp the next morning
by way of the East river. His party, abandoned to
themselves, were nearly all taken prisoners; among
BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 93
them Jewett of Lyme, captain of volunteers, after chap.
his surrender was run through the body by the
officer to whom he gave up his sword. None
remained in the field but Stirling, with the regi-
ment of Maryland and that of Delaware. For
nearly four hours they had stood in their ranks
with colors flying; when Stirling, finding himself
without hope of a reenforcement, and perceiving
the main body of the British army rapidly com-
ing behind him, gave them the word to retreat.
They withdrew in perfect order ; twenty marines,
who mistook the Delawares, from the facing of their
uniforms, for Hessians, were brought off as prisoners.
The only avenue of escape w^as by wading through
Gowanus creek ; and this passage was almost cut
off by troops under Cornwallis, who had advanced
by the Port road, and, with the second regiment.
of grenadiers and the seventy-first of Highlanders,
blocked the retreat at a house near the tide-
mills, within less than a half-mile of the American
lines. Stirling had not a moment to deliberate ;
he must hold Cornwallis in check, or his w^hole
party is lost; with the quick inspiration of disin-
terested valor, he ordered the Delaware reg-iment
and one half of that of Maryland to make the
best of their way across the marsh and creek ;
while, to secure them time for this movement, he
confronted the advancing British with only five
companies of Marylanders. His heroic self-sacrifice
animated the young soldiers whom he retained
with almost invincible resolution ; they flew at the
enemy w^ith "unparalleled bravery, in view of
all the American generals and troops within the
94 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, lines, who alternately praised and pitied them.**
V-— y — ' Washington wrung his hands as he exclaimed :
August " ^y ^^^ • ^'^^^ brave men must I this day lose ! "
27. They seemed likely to drive back the foremost
ranks of the British ; and when forced to give way,
rallied and renewed the onset. In this manner ten
minutes were gained, so that the Delawares with
their prisoners, and all of the Maryland regiment
but its five devoted companies, succeeded in reach-
ing the creek. Seven were drowned in its deep
waters ; the rest got safely over, and were escorted
to the camp by a regiment and a company, which
Washington had sent out to their relief Stirling
and the few who were with him attempted to
pass between Cornwallis and an American fort, but
were beaten back by masses of troops. Pressed
.by the enemy in the front and the rear, attacked
on the right flank and on the left, they gave up
the contest. Most of them, retreating to the right
through the woods, were cut to pieces or taken;
nine only succeeded in crossing the creek. Stir-
ling himself, refusing to surrender to the British
general, sought Von Heister, and gave up his
sword to the veteran.
During the engagement, a deep column of the
British descended from the woods with General
Vaughan, and drew near the American lines; they
were met by the fire of cannon and small arms.
Howe would not risk an assault, and ordered them
back to a hollow way, where they were out of
the reach of musketry. The works were carefully
planned, protected by an abatis, manned by fresh
troops, who were strengthened by three regiments
BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 95
of Scott's brigade, just arrived from New York. chap.
Washington was present to direct and to encour- >^-y-^
age. The attempt to storm the redoubt, without VJ^
artillery or fliscines or axes or scaling-ladders, 27.
might have been repulsed with losses greater than
at Bunker Hill; had the works been carried, all
the American troops on Long Island must have
surrendered.
Of the British, at the least five officers and fifty-
six others were killed, twelve officers and two hun-
dred and forty-five others wounded, one officer
and twenty marines taken prisoners. Much more
than one half of this loss fell upon the troops who
successively encountered Stirling. Of the Hessians,
only two privates were killed ; three officers and
twenty-three privates were wounded. The total
loss of the Americans, including officers, was, after
careful inquiry, found to be less than a thousand,
of whom three fourths were prisoners; this is the
account always given by Washington, alike in his
official report and in his most private letters; its
accuracy is confirmed by the special returns from
those regiments which were the chief sufferers.
More than half of this loss fell upon Stirling's
command ; more than a fourth on the Maryland
regiment alone.
From the coast-road on the bay to the pass on
the road from Jamaica was a distance of more
than five miles, too great to be occupied, except
by pickets. The approach of the British to the
American lines could not have been prevented ;
and nothing but inexperience or blind zeal could
have expected a different result. But the extent
96
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, of the disasters of the day was due to the incar
IV. . . .
pacity of Putnam, who, in spite of warning, suffered
himself to be surprised ; and having sent Stirling
and " the flower of the American army " into the
most dangerous position into which brave men
could have been thrown, neglected to countermand
his orders.
The day, though so full of sorrow for the Amer-
icans, shed little glory on British arms. The Hes-
sians, who received the surrender of Sullivan, Stir-
ling, and more than half the captives, made no
boast of having routed disconnected groups of ill-
armed militia, who were supported only by a few
poor cannon, and were destitute of engineers.
CHAPTER Y.
THE RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND.
August 27—30, 1776.
A BLEAK northeasterly wind sprung np at the chap.
close of the day. The British army, whose tents ^ — r^^
had not yet been brought up, slept in front of the ^y^^g^'
lines at Brooklyn, wrapped in their blankets and 27.
warmed by fires. Those of the patriot army who in
their retreat from the woody heights had left their
blankets behind them, and the battalions of Scott's
brigade, which had come over in haste, passed the
night without shelter, suffering from the cold. The
dead of the Americans lay unburied in the forest;
the severely wounded languished where they fell,
to suffer uncared for, and to die alone ; here and
there a fugitive who had concealed himself in a
thicket or a swamp found his way back to his
old companions. The captives were forced to en-
dure coarse revilings and cowardly insults; and,
when consigned to the provost-marshal, were hud-
dled together in crowded rooms or prison-ships, cut
VOL. IX. 9
98 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, off from good air and Avholesome food, to know
' — y — ' the intensest bitterness of bondage, and waste away
. • and die. Sadness prevailed in the American camp ;
27. distrust and dejection succeeded the rash presump-
tion of inexperience. The privates began to hold
most of their general officers in light esteem; and
Washington alone could inspire confidence. He was
everywhere in person ; and only when it became
certain that the British would remain quiet during
the night, did he retire for short rest. •
28. The next morning, which was Wednesday, was
chill, and the sky lowered with clouds. Unable to
rely on either of his major-generals, Washington
again, at the break of day, renewed the inspection
of the American works, which from their great
extent left many points exposed. He watched
closely the British encampments, which appeared
large enough for twenty thousand men ; wherever
he passed, he encouraged his soldiers to engage in
continual skirmishes. During the morning, Mifflin
brought over from New York a reenforcement of
nearly one thousand men, composed of Glover's
regiment of Massachusetts fishermen, and the Penn-
sylvania regiments of Shee and Magaw, which
, ' were " the best disciplined of any in the army."
Their arrival was greeted with cheers. They raised
the number of the Americans to nine thousand.
In the afternoon^ rain fell heavily; the lines were
at some places so low that men employed in the
trenches stood up to their waists in water; pro-
visions could not be regularly served, and whole
i regiments had nothing to eat but raw pork and
bread; but< they bore up against all hardships, for
THE RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND! 9^
their commander-in-chief was always among them, chap.
exposing himself more than any one to the fury ^^-y-^
of the storm, restoring order and obedience by ^„ J
his incessant care, . and teaching patience by his 28.
example. When the soldiers were ready to sink,
the sight of their general calmly and persistently
enduring the same hardships with themselves re-
conciled them to their sufferings.
But the physical pains of Washington were his
least ; it shows how clear was his perception that
he alone must watch for his generals and his army,
that for eight- and -forty hours he gave no one
moment to sleep, and for nearly all that time
was on horseback in the lines.
The British commander-in-chief. General Wil-
liam Howe, by illegitimate descent an uncle to the
king, was of a very different character. Six feet
tall, of an uncommonly dark complexion, a coarse
frame, and a sluggish mould, he was unresistingly
ruled by his sensual nature. He wfis not much in
earnest against the Americans, partly because he
Was persuaded that they could not be reduced by
arms, partly because he professed to be a liberal in
politics, partly because he never kindled with zeal
for anything. He had had military experience, and
had read books on war; but being destitute of
swiftness of thought and will, he was formed to
carry on war by rule. He would not march till
he could move deliberately, with ample means of
transportation. On the field of battle he sometimes
showed talent as an executive officer ; but, except
in moments of high excitement, he was lethargic,
wanting alertness and sagacity. He hated business,
100 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE
CHAP, and his impatience at being forced to attend to it,
v^>-^^ joined to a family gloom, made him difficult of
Au ust ^^^^^'^> ^^^ gained him the reputation of being
28. haughty and morose. • His indolence was his bane :
not wilfully merciless, he permitted his prisoners to
suffer from atrocious cruelty; not meaning that his
troops should be robbed, he left peculators uncon-
trolled, and the army and the hospitals were
wronged by contractors. His notions of honor in
money matters were not nice; but he was not so
much rapacious as insatiable. Disliking to have
his personal comforts infringed, he indulged freely
in the pleasures of the table ; without any delicacy
of passion, kept a mistress ; and loved to shake off
dull indifference by the hazards of the faro-table.
His officers were expected to be, in the field,
insensible to danger like himself; in their quarters,
he was willing they should openly lead a profligate
life ; and his example led many of the young to
their ruin by gaming. He had nothing heroic
about him, wanting altogether the quick eye, the
instant combination, and the commanding energy
of a great warrior.
During the day, a party of provincial loyalists,
under the command of De Lancey, overtook Wood-
hull two miles beyond Jamaica; after he had sur-
rendered, his captors struck him on the head with
a cutlass, and slashed his arm, inflicting wounds
which before many days proved fatal. He and
several of the militia who were taken with him
are included in Howe's list of the captives of the
previous day.
All the following night Washington kept an
THE RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND. 101
unceasin": watch over the intentions of the British chap.
. . . . V.
army and the condition of his own. In Philadel- v^v^^
phia, rumor quadrupled his force; the continental Vl^l
congress expected him to stay the English at the 28.
threshold, as had been done at Charleston; but the
morning of Thursday showed him that the British 29.
had broken ground within six hundred yards of
the height now known as Fort Greene. He saw
that they intended to force his lines by regular
approaches, which the nature of the ground and
his want of heavy cannon extremely favored ; he
saw that all Long Island was in their hands,
except only the neck on which he was intrenched,
and that a part of his camp would soon be ex-
posed to their guns ; his men were cast down by
misfortune, and falling sick from hard service, ex-
posure, and bad food ; his force was divided by
a channel, more than half a mile broad, and
swept by swift tides; on a change of wind, he
might be encircled by the entrance of the British
fleet into the East river; or ships which had sailed
round Long Island into Flushing bay might sud-
denly Convey a part of the British army to Harlem,
or to Fordham heights, in his rear.
It was his first care to provide means of trans-
portation for the retreat which it was no longer
safe to delay. Through Mifflin, in whom he con-
fided more than in any general on the island, and
who agreed with him in opinion, he despatched, at
an early hour, a written command to Heath, at
Kingsbridge, " to order every flat-bottomed boat
and other craft at his post, fit for transporting
9*
102 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
<3HAP. troops, down to New York as soon as possible,
without the least delay." In like manner, before
noon, he sent Trumbull, the commissary-general, to
New York, with orders for Hugh Hughes, the
assistant quartermaster-general, " to impress every
kind of water-craft, on either side of New York,
that could be kept afloat, and had either oars or
sails, or could be furnished with them, and to have
them all in the East river by dark."
To prevent confusion, these orders were issued
in such profound secrecy that not even his aids
knew his purpose. All day long he continued
abroad in the wind and rain, visiting the stations
of his men as before, and restraining their impar
tience. Not till "late in the day" did he alight
from his horse to meet his council of war at the
house of Philip Livingston on Brooklyn heights.
The abrupt proposal to retreat startled the impul-
sive zeal of Morin Scott, and against his better
judgment he objected to "giving the enemy a
single inch of ground." But unanswerable reasons
were urged in favor of Washington's design : the
.Americans were invested by an army of more than
double their number from water to water ; Mae-
dougall, whose nautical experience gave weight to
his words, declared "that they were liable every
moment, on the change of wind, to have the com-
munication between them and the city cut off by
the British frigates;" their supply of almost every
necessary of life was scant; the rain which had
fallen for two days and nights with little intermis-
sion had injured their arms and spoiled a great
part of their ammunition; the soldiery, of whom
list
THE RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND. 103
many were without cover at night, were worn out chap.
by incessant duties and Avatching. The resolution ^^^^r-^
to retreat was therefore unanimous ; yet, m the ^^^
ignorance of what orders Washington had issued 29.
and how well they had been obeyed, an opinion
was entertained in the council that success was
not to be hoped for.
After dark, the regiments were ordered to pre-
pare for attacking the enemy in the night; sev-
eral of the soldiers published to their comrades
their unwritten wills; but the intention to with-
draw from the island was soon surmised. At
eight o'clock Macdougall was at Brooklyn ferry,
charged to superintend the embarkation; and Glov-
er of Massachusetts, with his regiment of Essex
county fishermen, the best mariners in the world,
manned the sailing-vessels and flat-boats. The raw-
est troops were the first to be embarked; Mifflin,
with the Pennsylvania regiments of Hand, Magaw,
and Shee, the Delawares, and the remnant of the
Marylanders, claimed the honor of being the last
to leave the lines. About nine, the tide of ebb
made with a heavy rain and a strong adverse
wind, so that for three hours the sail-boats could
do little, and, with the few row-boats at hand, it
seemed impossible to transport all the army ; but
at eleven, the northeast wind, which had raged
for three days, died away; the water became so
smooth that the row-boats could be laden nearly
to the gunwales ; and a breeze sprung up from
the south and southwest, swelling the canvas from
the right quarter. It was the night of the full
moon; the British were so nigh that they were
104 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CH.\p. heard with their pickaxes and shovels; yet neither
' — Y — ' Agnew, their general officer for the night, nor any
Au"ust ^^^ ^^ them, took notice of the deep murmur in
29. the camp, or the plash of oars on the river, or the
ripple under the sail-boats. All night long, Wash-
ington was riding through the camp, insuring the
regularity of every movement. Some time before
80. dawn on Friday morning, Mifflin, through a mis-
take of orders, began to march the covering party
to the ferry ; it was Washington who discovered
them, in time to check their premature withdrawing.
The order to resume their posts was a trying test
of young soldiers; the regiments wheeled about
with precision, and recovered their former station
before the enemy perceived that it had been relin-
quished. As day approached, the sea-fog came
rolling in thickly from the ocean; welcomed as a
heavenly messenger, it shrouded the British camp,
completely hid all Brooklyn, and hung over the
East river without enveloping New York. When,
after three hours or more of further waiting, and
after every other regiment was safely cared for,
the covering party came down to the water-side,
Washington remained standing on the ferry-stair,
and would not be persuaded to enter a boat till
they were embarked. It was seven o'clock before
all the companies reached the New York shore.
At four, Montresor had given the alarm that the
Americans were in full retreat; but the English
officers were sluggards, and some hours elapsed
before he and a corporal, with six men, clambered
through the fallen trees, and entered the works,
only to find them evacuated. From Brooklyn
THE RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND. 105
heights four boats were still to be seen through chap.
the lifting fog on the East river; three of them,
filled with troops, were half-way over, and escaped ;
the fourth, manned by three vagabonds who had
loitered behind to plunder, was taken ; otherwise
the whole nine thousand who were on Long
Island, with their provisions, military stores, field-
artillery, and ordnance, except a few worthless iron
cannon, landed safely in New York.
"Considering the difficulties," wrote Greene, "the
retreat from Long Island was the best-effected re-
treat I ever read or heard of."
NOTE.
My account of the retreat from Lonjr Island diflers so materially from 27-3(X
that given by the biographer of Joseph Reed, that I will not demand it to
be received as accurate without explaining the authority on which it rests.
This is the more necessary as the ability and reputation of that author,
"William B. Reed, have misled others to adopt his narrative. The biog-
rapher represents Washington in council "on the night of the 26th,'*
(Reed's Reed, i. 221) ; that "sources of deep anxiety were open, and yet
Washington acted as if in command of veteran troops," (Ibid. 222) ; that
on the 28th " he still adhered to his intention to risk a battle at his intrench-
ments," (Ibid. 224); that "the heavy rain of the 28th was succeeded on
the 29th by a fog on the island," (Ibid. 225) ; that " Colonel Reed, with
Mifflin and Grayson, rode to the western extremity of the lines;" that,
" whilst there the fog was lifted by a shift of wind, and the British fleet
■within the Narrows could be plainly seen ; " that " some movement was in
contemplation ; and if the wind held, and the fog cleared off, the fleet
would come up and surround the American army," (Ibid. 225) ; that " it
was determined that the three officers should at once return to General
Washington's quarters, and urge the immediate withdrawal of the army;"
that " they " [namely. Colonel Reed and Mifflin and Grayson] " had reason
to believe that this counsel would not be acceptable, and that the command-
er-in-chief desired to try the fortune of war once more in his present
position ; " that " Colonel Reed, as the most intimate, and the most entitled
to respect, was fixed on as the one to suggest the movement ; " and that
106 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. Colonel Reed's advice, thus forced upon the general, prevailed, and occ»>
^' sioiied the call of a council of war, (Ibid. 226).
177 6 That this story would lead to the inference that Washington was a most
AutTust '"^■o™P*if<^nt general, and a very weak man, and utterly unfit for his place,
27-30. must not bias the mind of the historical inquirer. It is the office of the
historian to find out the truth and to tell it, even though it should convict
Washington of imbecility, while placing Colonel Reed among the saviours
of the country.
The main authority of the biographer for his statement is a paper pur-
porting to be a letter from an old man of eighty-four, just three days before
his death, when he was too ill to write a letter, or to sign his name, or even
to make his mark, and professing to detail the substance of convei'sations
held by the moribund fifty-six years before, with Colonel Grayson of Vir-
ginia, ten or eleven years after the retreat from Long Island, to which the
convereations referred. The eyes of the witness closed too soon to admit
of his being cross-examined, but nature comes in with its protest: his
story turns on a change of wind, which he represents as having taken
place before the council of war was called ; now no such change of wind
took place before the council of war met, as appears from their unani-
mous written testimony at the time. Proceedings of a council of wai
held August 29, 1776, at head-quarters in Brooklyn, printed by Onder-
donk, 161, and in Force's Archives, fifth series, i. 1246.
The lifting of the fog and consequent sight of the British fleet which the
biographer dwells upon is, as far as I know, sup{)orted by no witness at
all ; and this little bit of romance, which forms the pivot of the biogra-
pher's attribution of special merit to Colonel Reed, is refuted by posi-
tive testimony. The sea fog, following the change of wind did not take
place till after the retreat began. The accounts of contemporaries all
ajjree that the fojj did not rise till the morning of the thirtieth. Account
in the Boston Independent Chronicle of September 19, 1 776 :" At sunrise **
on the thirtieth. Benjamin Tallmadge's Memoirs, 10, 11: "As the dawn
of the day approached, a very dense fog began to rise." Gordon's History
of the Ameri(?an Revolution, ii. 314, English edition of 1 788 : " A thick
fog about two o'clock in the morning." Gordon wrote from the letters of
Glover, and from the information of persons who were present. Note to
the Thanksgiving sermon of Dr. John Rogers of New York, delivered in
New York, December 11, 1783, and printed in 1784 : "Not long after day
broke, a heavy fog rose." Graydon makes his first mention of the fog in
his account of what happened in the morning of the thirtieth. Some of
these authorities are cited in the accurate and judicious work of Henry
Onderdonk, Jr. : Revolutionary Incidents in Suffolk and King's Counties,
158, 162.
THE RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND. 107
Graydon, who is cited by Reed's biographer as a corroborative witness, CHAP.
leaves Mifflin out of the number of those who spoke with Reed in favor V.
of a retreat. Littell's edition of Graydon's Memoirs, 166. 17T0.
The biographer of Reed seems not to have borne in mind the wonderful ^u.Tust
power of secrecy of Washington, in which he excelled even Franklin ; for 27-30,
Franklin sometimes left the impression that he knew more than he was
willing to utter, but Washington always seemed to have said all that the
occasion required. The perfect unity and metho<l of the retreat prove
the controlling mind of one master. W^ashington's order given to Heath,
who was stationed at Kingsbridge, to provide boats for transportation,
may be found in Force, (American Archives, fifth series, i. 1211); how
Heath understood and executed it is told by Heath himself, (Heath's
Memoirs, 57). Of the precise hour in which Washington's order to Heath
was issued or received I have found no minute; but that it must have
been issued soon after daylight on the twenty-ninth appears from this: the
messenger who bore it had to cross the East river against a strong head-
wind, and to travel about fifteen miles by land ; and Heath received the
order in season to execute it thoroughly well, and he makes no complaint
of any want of time or necessity for hurry. The council of war was not
held till ** late in the day," as we know from a member of the council itself,
writing within a few days of the event. Brigadier-General Jphn Morin
Scott to John Jay, September 6, 1776. It follows, therefore, if Reed
during the dav was ijjnorant of Washinjjton's desijin to retreat from Long
Island, that Washington kept it as much a secret from him as he did from
others. I have met with no evidence that Washington, before noon, com-
municated his intentions to more than two persons on Long Island,
namely, to Mifflin, through whom the order was sent to Heath, and to
Colonel Joseph Trumbull, the commissary-general through whom a mes-
sage was transmitted to Hugh Hughes, the acting quartermaster-general
in New York. Memorial of Hugh Hughes, 32, &c. All the orders
relating to the retreat were veiled under the appearance of a movement
against the enemy.
Why Washington decided to retreat from Long Island is rightly told
in what remains of a letter written on the thirtieth of August, 1776, by
Joseph Reed to William Livingston of New Jersey, and printed in Sedg-
wick's Life of Livingston, 201. That AVashington was deliberately resolved
"to avoid a general action," and put as little as possible to risk, we have
under his own hand. Sparks's Washington, iv. 81.
CHAPTER VL
THE PROGRESS OF THE HOWES.
August 30 — September 15, 1776.
• Care sat heavily on the brow of the young
people, who were to be formed to fortitude by
1776. tribulation, and endeared to after ages by familiarity
80. with sorrows. After the disaster of Long Island,
Lord Howe received Sullivan on board of the
" Eagle " with hospitable courtesy, approved his
immediate exchange for General Prescott, who was
at Philadelphia, and then spoke so strongly of his
own difficulty in recognising congress as a legal
body, of the prevailing misconception respecting
his authority to enter into any discussion of griev-
ances, and yet of his ample powers to open a
way for their redress, that the American general
proposed to visit Philadelphia as a go-between, and
undeceive those who entertained so confined an
opinion. His indiscretion was without bounds;
volunteering to act as a messenger from an ene-
my of his country to its government, he took no
I
THE PROGRESS OF THE HOWES. 109
minute of the offer which he was to hear, relying chap.
only on his recollection of desultory conversations.
A few hours after the troops got over from Long
Island, he followed on parole. The American com-
mander-in-chief disapproved his mission ; but deemed
it not right to prohibit by military authority an
appeal to the civil power.
For the time, Washington could only hope to 30, si
keep at bay the great army opposed to him. The
dilatoriness of his antagonist left him leisure to
withdraw the garrison from Governor's island, where
Prescott ran almost as great a risk of captivity as
at Bunker Hill ; but the inhabitants of Long Island
were left at the mercy of the English, and some
from choice, some to escape the prison-ship and
ruin from confiscation, took the engagement of
allegiance. Yet the delay caused by the defence Sept
of Brooklyn had done much towards preventing a
junction with Carleton. Of this the thought was
now abandoned for the season ; and in a letter to
Germain, the British general frankly announced
the necessity of another campaign. His report of
the events on Long Island hid his chagrin at the
escape of Washington's army under boastful exag-
gerations, magnifying the force which he encoun-
tered two or three times, the killed and wounded
eight or ten times, and enlarging the number of
his prisoners. His own loss he somewhat dimin-
ished.
Conscious that congress were expecting impos- J.
sibilities, Washington saw the necessity of setting
forth to them plainly the condition of his army.
He reminded them of his frequent representation,
VOL. IX 10
110 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. '
CHAP, that the public safety required enlistments for the
war; the defeat on Long Island had impaired the
confidence of the troops in their officers and in
one another; the militia, dismayed, intractable, and
impatient, went off by half-companies, by compa-
nies, and almost by whole regiments at a time ;
their example impaired all subordination, and forced
him to confess his "want of confidence in the gen-
erality of the troops ; " the city of New York must
be abandoned; and the necessity for doing it was
60 imminent, that the question whether its houses
should be left to stand as winter -quarters for the
enemy would "admit of but little time for delib-
eration." His judgment was right; Rufus Putnam,
his ablest engineer, reported that the enemy, from
their command of the water, could land where
they pleased at any point between the bay and
Throg's neck ; while Greene advised a general re-
treat, and that the city and its suburbs should be
burned.
When, on the second of September, Sullivan was
introduced to the congress, John Adams broke out
to the member who sat next him : " Oh, the decoy-
duck ; would that the first bullet from the enemy
in the defeat on Long Island had passed through
his brain ! " In delivering his message, the emis-
sary went so far as to affirm that Lord Howe
said " he was ever against taxing us ; that he was
very sure America could not be conquered ; that
he would set aside the acts of parliament for
taxing the colonies and changing the charter of
Massachusetts." Congress directed Sullivan to re-
duce his communication to writinp^. He did so.
THE PROGRESS OF THE HOWES. HI
and presented it the next morning. Its purport chap.v
was, " that though Lord Howe could not at pres- v. — r^
ent treat with congress as such, he was very g^p^^'
desirous as a private gentleman to meet some 3.
of its members as private gentlemen; that he, in
conjunction with General Howe, had full powers
to compromise the dispute between Great Britain
and America; that he wished a compact might be
settled at this time; that in case, upon conference,
they should find any probable ground of an accom-
modation, the authority of congress must be after-
wards acknowledged."
Having received this paper, which proposed the
abandonment of independence and of union, and
the abdication of congress, that body proceeded to
the business of the day. In committee of the
whole, they took into consideration the unreserved
confession of Washington, that he had not a force
adequate to the defence of New York. They were
nnwilHng to give room for a suspicion of their
firmness by consenting in advance to the surren-
der of that city; they therefore decided that "it
should in no event be damaged, for they had no
doubt of being able to recover it, even though
the enemy should obtain possession of it for a
time." They ordered for its defence three more
battalions from Virginia, two from North Carolina,
and one from Rhode Island ; and they invited the
assemblies and conventions of every state north
of Virginia to forward all possible aid ; but the
strange expectation that the British could be
kept off by speculative reenforcements increased
112 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, the difficulties and the peril which environed
* — y — ' Washington.
Sept* ^^ ^^^ fourth and fifth, congress debated the
4, 5. message of Lord Howe, which Witherspoon, with a
very great majority of the members, looked upon I
as an insult. "We have lost a battle and a small
island," said Rush, " but we have not lost a state ;
why then should we be discouraged? Or why
should we be discouraged, even if we had lost a
state ? If there were but one state left, still that J
one should peril all for independence." George
Ross sustained his colleague. " The panic may seize
whom it will," wrote John Adams; "it shall not j
seize me ; " and like Rush and Witherspoon, he
spoke vehemently against the proposed conference.
On the other hand, Edward Rutledge favored it,
as a means of procrastination; and at last New
Hampshire, Connecticut, and even Virginia gave
way for the sake of quieting the people. Sullivan
was directed to deliver to Lord Howe a written
"resolve, that the congress, being the represent-
atives of the free and independent states of
America, could not send their members to confer
with him in their private characters; but, ever
desirous of peace on reasonable terms, they would
send a committee of their body to learn whether
he had any authority to treat with persons author-
ized by them, what that authority was, and to
6. hear his propositions." On the sixth, the commit-
tee was elected by ballot, and the choice fell on
Franklin, John Adams, and Edward Rutledge. For
the future, it was ordered that no proposals for
THE PROGRESS OF THE HOWES. 118
peace between Great Britain and the United States chap.
should be received, unless they should be made in
writing, and should recognise the authority of the
states in congress.
Notwithstanding the desire of congress that New
York should be held, Washington remained con-
vinced that it was impossible ; and on the seventh
he convened his general officers, in the hope
of their concurrence and support. The case was
plain ; yet Mercer, who was detained at Amboy,
wrote his untimely wish to maintain the post ;
others interpreted the vote of congress as an in-
junction that it was to be defended at all hazards ;
and as one third of the army had no tents, and
one fourth were sick, many clung to the city for
shelter. The majority, therefore, decided to hold
it with five thousand men, and to distribute the
rest of the army between Kingsbridge and Harlem
heights. The power to overrule the majority of
his general officers had not been explicitly con-
ferred on Washington, and as he might be consid-
ered but as first among his peers, he most reluc-
tantly submitted to their advice till he could
convince congress that the proposed evacuation
was an absolute necessity. Meantime he removed
such stores as were not immediately needed, and
began the slow and difficult task of transferring
the sick to the inland towms of New Jersey.
The plainly perceptible hesitancy of decision was
very unjustly attributed by the ill-informed to the
general himself In August congress had sent for
Charles Lee, as the proper head of the army,
should any accident befall Washington; and now
10*
114 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, officers of merit as well as privates "were con-
tinually praying most earnestly for the arrival of
General Lee as their guardian angel."
Abandoned by his council, Washington still ad-
hered firmly to his plan for the campaign ; and
foreseeing the danger of risking by delay the loss
of arms and stores, he appealed to congress with
increased earnestness. While the troops voted him
did not arrive, the militia were all the time return-
ing home, so that the number from Connecticut
was reduced from six thousand to two thousand.
To those members of congress whose unreasoning
zeal would not surrender an inch of land, still less
the city which was the point of connection between
the north and the south, least of all, fortifications
which represented the labor of thousands of men
during many months, Washington replied: '^To be
prepared at each point of attack has occasioned an
expense of labor which now seems useless, and is
regretted by those who form a judgment from
after-knowledge ; but men of discernment will think
differently, and see by such works and preparations
we have delayed the operations of the campaign till
it is too late to efiect any capital incursion into
the country. It is now obvious that they mean to
enclose us on the island of New York, by taking
post in my rear, while the shipping secures the
front; and thus oblige us to fight them on their
own terms, or surrender at discretion. On every
side there is a choice of difficulties. Every measure
is to be formed with some apprehension that all
our troops will not do their duty. On our side the
war should be defensive ; it has even been called a
THE PROGRESS OF THE HOWES. 115
war of posts ; we should on all occasions avoid a chap.
general action, and never be drawn into a neces-
sity to put anything to risk. Persuaded that it
would be presumptuous to draw out our young
troops into open ground against their superior?
botli in number and discipline, I have never spared
the spade and pickaxe. I have not found that
readiness to defend even strong posts at all hazards
which is necessary to derive the greatest benefit
from them. We are now in a post, strong, but
not impregnable ; nay, acknowledged by every man
of judgment to be untenable. It has been consid-
ered as the key to the northern country; but by
establishing strong posts at Mount Washington on
the upper part of this island, and on the Jersey
side opposite to it, and by the assistance of obstruc-
tions in the water, not only the navigation of Hud-
son river, but a communication between the north-
ern and southern states, may be more effectually
secured. I am sensible that a retreating army is
encircled with difficulties, that declining an engage-
ment subjects a general to reproach, and may
throw discouraorement over the minds of manv ;
but when the fate of America may be at stake on
the issue, we should protract the war if possible.
That the enemy mean to winter, in New York,
there can be no doubt; that they can drive us
out, is equally clear; nothing seems to remain, but
to determine the time of their taking possession."
Congress received with coldness this remonstrance lo
of Washington ; but it was unanswerable, and they
resolved, on the tenth, that it had not been "their
sense, that any part of the army should remain in
116 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. New York a moment longer than lie should think
it proper for the public service."
On the eleventh, Lord Howe sent his barge for
Franklin, John Adams, and Kutledge ; relying on
his honor, they took with them the officer sent as
a hostage for their security. They were met by
him at the water's edge, and conducted through
files of grenadiers, armed with fixed bayonets, to a
large stone house, where, in a room carpeted with
moss and green boughs, they partook of an excel-
lent collation. In the discussion of business, a
difficulty presented itself at the outset. As they
had been formally announced as a committee from
congress, Lord Howe premised, with some embar-
rassment of manner, that he was bound to say he
conversed with them as private individuals. At
this, John Adams came to his relief, saying : " Con-
sider us in any light you please, except that of
British subjects." During a conversation which
lasted for several hours Lord Howe was discursive
in his remarks: he went back to the last petition
of congress to the king, and to the time anterior
to the declaration of independence ; he hoped that
this interview might prepare the way for the
return of America to her allegiance, and for an
accommodation of the two countries. To bring the
discussion to a point, Edward Rutledge cited to
him the declaration of Sullivan, "that he would
set the acts of parliament wholly aside, because
parliament had no right to tax America, or meddle
with her internal polity."
Lord Howe had no discretionary power whatever
with regard to these two vital points in the con-
THE PROGRESS OF THE HOWES. 117
troversy; he therefore answered Rutledge, like a chap.
man of honor, with truth and frankness, " that Sul- — y^
livan had extended his words much beyond their ^gjf*
import; that, while the king and ministry were n-
willing that instructions and acts of parliament
complained of should be revised, his commission
in respect to them w\as confined to powers of
consultation with private persons." Franklin in-
quired if the commissioners would receive and
report propositions from the Americans; as no
objection was interposed, he represented " that it
was the duty of good men on both sides of the
water to promote peace by an acknowledgment
of American independence, and a treaty of friend-
ship and alliance between the two countries ; " and
he endeavored to prove that Great Britain would
derive • more durable advantages from such an
alliance than from the connection which it was
the object of the commission to restore. Lord
Howe did not fail to report this overture, which
he in his heart was beginning to approve. The
committee of congress, on their return to Philadel-
phia, reported that he had made no proposition
of peace, except that the colonies should return to
their allegiance to the government of Great Britain ;
and that his commission did Yiot appear to contain
any other authority of importance than what was
expressed in the act of parliament, namely, that of
granting pardons, and declaring America, or any
part of it, to be in the king's peace, upon submis-
sion. " Our sins against God," wrote the governor
of Connecticut, " need pardon from the supreme
118 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. Director of all events; the rebels who need pardon
from the king of Britain are not yet discovered."
By this time the army of General Howe ex-
tended along the high ground that overlooks the
East river and the sound, from Brooklyn to Flush-
ing, and occupied the two islands which we call
Ward's and Randall's ; a battery erected at Astoria
replied to the American works on the point just
north of Hellgate ferry. Night after night, boats
came in and anchored just above Bush wick. On
12. the twelfth, Washington, supported by the written
request of Greene and six brigadiers, reconvened
his council of war at the quarters of Macdougall;
and this time it w^as decided to abandon the lower
part of the island, none dissenting but Spencer
from sheer ignorance and dulness. Heath from dis-
honesty, and George Clinton from stubborn zeal.
The council was hardly over, when Washington
was once more in the lines ; and at evening the
Americans under his eye doubled their posts along
the East river. He was seen by the Hessians, and
Krug, a captain of the Hessian artillery, twice in
succession pointed cannon at him and his staff,
and was aiming a third shot, as he rode on.
IJ. The thirteenth, the anniversary of the victory on
the Plains of Abraham, in which Howe bore an
honorable part, was selected for the landing of the
British in New York ; the watchword was Quebec,
the countersign Wolfe ; but the ships of war that
were to cover the landing caused delay. In the
afternoon, four of them, keeping up an incessant
fire, and supported by the cannon on Governor's
THE PROGRESS OF THE HOWES. 119
island, sailed past the American batteries into the chap.
East river, and anchored opposite the present Thir-
teenth street. Washington kept a close watch on
their movements, and one of their shot struck
within six feet of him. During the fourteenth he
did all that his very scanty means of transpor-
tation would allow, to save his stores and artillery
About sunset, six more British armed ships went
up the East river. In one more day, the city
would have been evacuated.
On the fifteenth, three ships of w^ar ascended the 15.
Hudson as far as Bloomingdale, which put a stop
to the removal of army stores by water. At eleven,
the ships of war which were anchored in the stream
below Bhickwell's island began a heavy cannonade,
to scour the grounds ; at the same time, eighty-four
boats laden with troops, under the direction of
Admiral Hotham, came out of New^town creek,
and with a southerly wind sailed up the East river
in four columns; till, on a signal, they formed in
line, and, aided by oars and the sweeping tide,
came to the shore between Turtle bay and the
city, in array for battle. At the sound of the
first cannon, Washington, who had supposed the
principal landing would be made at Harlem or
Morrisania, rode "with all possible despatch" to-
wards Kip's bay, near Thirty-fourth street; as he
drew near, he found the men who had been posted
in the lines running away, and the brigades of
Fellows of Massachusetts and Parsons of Connec-
ticut, that were to have supported them, flying in
every direction, heedless of the exertions of their
generals. Putnam's division of about four thousand
120 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, troops was still in the lower city, sure to be cut
ofl^ unless the British could be delayed. When all
else fails, the commander-in-chief must in person
give the example of daring: Washington presented
himself to lead any body of men, however small,
who would mai^e an effort to hold the advancing
forces in check. He used every means to rally
the fugitives, get them into some order, and rean-
imate their courage ; but on the appearance of a
party of not more than sixty or seventy, they
ran away in the greatest confusion without firing
a single shot, panic-stricken from fear of having
their retreat cut off, leaving him on the ground
within eighty yards of the enemy. " Are these
the men by whom I am expected to defend the
liberties of America?" he asked of himself; and
he seemed to seek death rather than life. Being
reminded by the officers nearest him that it was
in vain to withstand the British alone, he turned
to give the wisest orders for the safety of Harlem
heights, and for guarding against ill consequences
from the mornings disaster.
As the Hessians took immediate possession of
the breastworks which guarded the Boston road,
near the present Lexington avenue, the fugitive
brigades fled, not without loss, across woody fields
to Bloomingdale. At ten minutes past three in the
afternoon, the American colors were struck on the
old Fort George, and the English flag was raised
by Lord Dunmore. Most of Putnam's division es-
caped by a road very near the Hudson ; its com-
mander, heedless of the intense heat of the day,
rode from post to post to call off the pickets and
THE PROGRESS OF THE HOWES. 121#
guards. Silliman's brigade threw itself in despair chap.
into the redoubt of Bunker hill, where Knox, at w->— '
the head of the artillery, thought only of a gallant g^ *
defence ; but Burr, who was one of Putnam's aids, i^.
rode up to show them that a retreat was prac-
ticable, and guided them by way of the old Mon-
ument lane to the west side of the island, where
they marched along the winding road now super-
seded by the Eighth avenue, and regained the
Bloomingdale road near the present Sixtieth street.
The respite w^hich saved Putnam's division was
due to Mary Lindley, the wife of Eobert Murray.
When the British army drew near her house on
Incleberg, as Murray hill was then called, Howe and
his officers, ordering a halt, accepted her invitation
to a lunch ; and by the excellence of her viands
and old Madeira wdne, and by the good -humor
with which she parried Tryon's jests at her sym- .
pathy with the rebels, she whiled away two hours
or more of their time, till every American regi-
ment had escaped. Washington was the last to
retire, riding from Bloomingdale but a few mo-
ments before it was occupied by the British
infantry. The Americans left behind a few heavy
cannon, and much of their baggage and stores;
fifteen of them were killed ; one hundred and fifty-
nine were missing, chiefly men who had wilfully
loitered behind. The British gained the island as
far as the eighth mile-stone, with but two Hessians
killed and about twenty British and Hessians
wounded. At night, their bivouac extended from
the East river near Hellgate to the Hudson at
Bloomingdale. On Harlem heights the American
VOL. IX 11
122 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
i
CHAP, fugitives, weary from having passed fifteen hours
under arms, disheartened by the loss of their tents
and blankets, and wet by a cold driving rain that i
closed the sultry day, lay on their arms with only
the sky above them. J
KOTE.
The account I have piven of Washington's conduct in his attempt to
rally the fujiitives at Kip's bay agrees substantially with that of Marshall,
(Marshall's Washington, i. 101, ed. 1843,) and with the matured judgment
of Sparks, (Life of Washington, 199). W^ashington was justly vexed at
the cowardice of the men whom he had stationed at Kip's bay ; he reported
it in unsparing terms to congress, and censured it in general orders. All
agree that he attempted, but in vain, to rally the men ; no one disputes
that, with the good judgment of perfect self-possession, he gave immedi-
ately the wisest orders for the safety of the army, nor that his conduct on
the occasion struck the army with such awe that he could count on its
courage by the dawn of another day. The makers of gossip have gradually
embroidered upon the incident of his serious and well-founded displeasure
a variety of inconsistent details. Of strictly contemporary accounts, that
is, of accounts wiitten within a few days of the events, I find three of
importance: Washington to Congress, September 16, 1776, in his Official
Letti-rs, i. 246, and in Sparks, iv. 94 ; Greene to Governor Cooke of Rhode
Island, Septentber 17, 1776, in Force, fifth series, ii. 370; and Caesar Rod-
ney at Philadelphia to Messrs. Read and Mackean, September 18, 1776.
The account of Rodney is a report carefully prepared from various sources
which he does not specify. I give an extract from it : " From all I can
collect, this was the situation of affairs on Sunday morning, when the ships
before mentioned began a very heavy firing at Turtle bay, to scour the
country previous to their landing the troops, but hurt nobody, that I can
hear of When the firing ceased, their troops began to land, and ours to
run as if the devil was in them. In spite of all the general could do,
they never fired one gun. General Washington, having discovered the
enemy's intention to land at that place, ordered a reeiiforcement, and set
out there himself However, before he got to the place, he met our pco{)le
running in every direction. He endeavored by persuasion and threats to
get them back, but all to no purpose ; in short, they ran till they left the
general to shift for himself" This letter shows clearly the opinion pre-
vailing among men of sense in Philadelphia at the time. Greene's words
are : " Fellows's and Parsons's whole brigade ran away from about fifty
i
THE TROGRESS OF THE HOWES. 123
men, and left liis extellency on the ground wilhin eighty yards of the CHAP,
enemv, so vexed at the infamous conduct of the troops that he sought **•
death rather than life." That Washington sought to shame or to inspirit
l)is men by setting them an example of desperate courage may be true ;
certainly a general who chides for cowardice can do it best when he has
just givt'H evidence of his own disregard of danger. The embellishments
of the narrative, which have been gradually wrought out, till they have
become self-contradictory and ludicrous, may be traced to the camp.
A bitter and jealous rivalry, which the adjutant-general had assisted to
foment, had grown up between the New England troops and those south
of New England. Northern men very naturally found excuses for their
brethren, and may have thought that Washington censured them too
severely ; but while I have had in my hands very many contemporary
letters written by New Englanders on the events of this campaign, I have
never found in any one of them the least reflection on Washington for his
conduct in the field during any part of this day, unless the words of Greene
are to be so interpreted. The imputations began with officers south of
New England, and were dictated by a zeal to illumine and bring out in
bold relief the dastardly behavior of the eastern runaways. The first
effort in that direction may be seen in an official letter from Smallwood,
the highest Maryland officer, to the convention of his state : " Sixty light
infantry, upon the first fire, put to flight two brigades of the Connecticut
troo[)s, — wretches who, however stranjie it may appear, from the brigadier-
general down to the private sentinel, were caned and whipped by the.
(ienerals Washington, Putnam, and Mifflin, but even this indignity had no
weight ; they could not be brought to stand one shot." Colonel Smallwood
to Maryland Convention, October 12, 1776, in Force, fifth series, ii. 1013.
This statement, so full of blunders and impossibilities, shows the camp to
be not always "a correct source" of information. Gordon comes next;
under the date of December 20, 1776, he writes: "His [Washington's]
attempts to stop them [the troops] were fruitless, though he drew hia
sword and threatened to run them through, cocked and snapped hia
pistols." Gordon, ii. 327. Now a man on horseback, "within eighty-
yards" of an advancing enemy, could not, at one and the same time,
have managed his horse and drawn his sword and cocked his two old-
fashioned flint-lock horse-pistols. Gordon was capable of prejudice, and
was no critic ; when he cites a document, I hold it certain that he cites
it truly, for I have found it so in every case where I have had occasion
to verify his citations ; when he tells a story, I hold it certain that some
one had told it before; but I have found that his repeating it gives it no
sure claim to credence. His work, which, notwithstanding all its faults,
is invaluable, is by no means free from tales that, on examination, aie
124 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, found untrustworthy. Succeeding writers sometimes find it hard if they
^^' cannot add a little to the statements of previous narrators. Ramsay has
indulged himself in an exposition of the train of thought which was pass-
ing through Washington's mind at the time of the fright and consequent
confusion. Ramsay's Revolution, i. 306, 307. Heath, publishing "Me-
moirs" in 1798, improves upon Gordon, and writes from hearsay:
" Here it was, as fame hath said, that General Washington threw his
hat on the ground." Heath's Memoirs, 60. Graydon repeats the hear-
say, but without vouching for it, " that the general lost all patience,
throwing his hat upon the ground in a transport of rage and indignation."
Graydon in Littell's edition, 174. Now Washington was on horseback;
did he get off his horse to pick up his hat in the face of Cornwallis and
Clinton ? Did he ride about in sijrht of the British and Hessians and of
his own army for the rest of the day bareheaded, or in a begrimed hat
and plume ? I am almost ashamed of exposing so foolish a story, which
rests on no authority. To sum up the whole : Trustworthy documents
prove that the party at Kip's bay retreated in a cowardly manner; that
Washington was angry at thera for their cowardice, as he ought to have
been; that he was the last to consent to turn away from the enemy;
that he then with promptness and unimpcached good judgment did every-
thing which remained to be done ; that on the next day he had a more
perfect command of the army, and more assurance of their courage, than
for several weeks before.
4
CHAPTER VII.
THE EMBARRASSMENTS OF AMERICA-
September 15—30, 1776.
The cowardice of the troops at Kip's bay was chap.
reported to congress by Washington with unspar-
ing severity; and was rebuked in a general order,
menacing instant death as the punishment of cow-
ardice on the field. Meantime he used every method
to revive the courage of his army. On the night
of their • reaching Harlem heights, he sent orders
to Silas Talbot, who had accepted the perilous
command of a fire-brig, to make an attempt on
the ships of war. that lay in the Hudson, near the
present One hundred and twenty-fourth street
At two o'clock in the dark and cloudy morning is.
of the sixteenth, the officer left his hiding-place,
three or four miles above Fort Lee, ran down
the river under a fair wind, and, grappling the
"Renomm^," set his brig on fire. He was burned
almost to blindness, yet escaped with his crew; the
"Renomme" freed itself without injury; but, with
11 «
126 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, the other ships of war, quitted its moorings, and
went out of the stream.
At a later hour, American troops marched in
good order from Fort Washington, and extended
their left wing as far as Harlem. As an offset to
this movement, Leslie, who commanded the British
advanced posts, led the second battalion of light
infantry, with two battalions of Highlanders and
seven field-pieces, into a wood on the hill which
lies east of Bloomingdale road and overlooks Man-
hattanville. From this detachment two or three
companies of light infantry descended into the
plain, drove in an American picket, and sounded
their buo:les in boastful defiance. EnscatJi-ino: their
attention by preparations for attacking them in
front, Washington ordered Major Leitch with three
companies of Weedon's Virginia regiment, and
Colonel Knowlton with his volunteer rangers, to
prepare secretly an attack on the rear of the main
detachment in the wood ; and Reed, who best knew
the ground, acted as their guide. Under the lead
of George Clinton, the American party which en-
gaged the light infantry in front compelled them
twice to retreat, and drove them back to the force
with Leslie. The Americans in pursuit clambered
up the rocks, and a very brisk action ensued, which
continued about two hours. Knowlton and Leitch
began their attack too soon, on the Hank rather
than in the rear. Reed's horse was wounded
under him ; in a little time Leitch was brought off
with three balls through his side. Soon after,
Knowlton was mortally wounded ; in the agonies
of death, all his inquiry was, if the enemy had
THE EMBARRASSMENTS OF AMERICA. 127
been beaten. Notwithstanding the loss of their chap.
leaders, the men resolutely continued the engage- v^^-^^
17 7 6
ment. Washington advanced to their support part ^^^^^'
of two Maryland regiments, with detachments of i<>.
New Englanders; Putnam and Greene, as Avell as
Tilghman and others of the general's staff, joined in
the action to animate the troops, who charged with
the greatest intrepidity. The British, worsted a third
time, fell back into an orchard, and from thence
across a hollow and up the hill which lies east
of the Eighth avenue and overlooks the country
far and wide. Their condition was desperate : they
had lost seventy killed and two hundred and ten
wounded ; ^ the Highlanders had fired their last
cartridge ; without speedy relief they must cer-
tainly be cut off. The Hessian yagers were the
first of the reenforcements to reach the hill, and '
were in season to share in the action, suffering a
loss of one officer and seven men wounded. " Col-
umns of English infantry, ordered at eleven to
stand to their arms, were instantly trotted about
three miles, without a halt to take breath ; " and
the Yon Linsing battalion was seen to draw near,
while two other German battalions occupied Mac-
gowan's pass. Washington, unwilling to risk a
general action, ordered a retreat. This skirmish,
in its effects, was almost equal to a victory ; it
restored the spirit and confidence of the Americans.
Their loss was about sixty killed and wounded;
1 "Wenn (lie EnrjUsclion und lies- leic-hten Truppcn entkomnien ; sie
sischen Grenadiei-s, besonders die verlort-n 70 Todte uiid 210 Rles-
llt'ssisrlien J;i<i:er nicht zur Iliilfe sirte." From HauniuMstei's full and '
zeiti;r genuji angekommen wUren, ciruiinistantial report, datfd Camp
so ware keiner von diesen braven near Hellgate, September 24,1776.
128 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, but among these was Knowlton, who would have
been an honor to any country, and Leitch, one of
Virginia's worthiest sons. ■{
Howe would never own how much he had suf-
fered ; his general orders rebuked Leslie for impru-
dence. The result confirmed him in his caution.
The ground in front of the Americans was so
difficult and so well fortified that he could not
hope to carry it by storm ; had he by a circuitous
route thrown the main body of his army in their
rear, he would have left the city of New York
and its garrison at Washington's mercy; he there-
fore waited more than three weeks, partly to col-
lect means of transportation, and partly to form
redoubts across the island.
19. During the delay. Lord Howe and his brother,
on the nineteenth, in a joint declaration, going far
beyond the form prepared by the solicitor-general,
promised in the king's name a revision of his
instructions and his concurrence in the revisal of ^i
all acts by which his subjects in the colonies *'
might think themselves aggrieved ; and, appeahng ^i
from congress, they invited all well-affected sub- . '
jects to a conference. The paper was disingen-
uous, for the instructions to the commissioners,
which were carefully kept secret, demanded as
preliminary conditions grants of revenue and fur-
ther changes of charters. Washington saw through
the artifice. Lord Howe can escape conviction for
duplicity, only by supposing that he was duped by
his own wishes to misinterpret his powers; but
the crafty appeal was wisely timed for its end;
for there were signs of despondency and discontent
I
THE EMBARRASSMENTS OF AMERICA. 129
in the New York counties on the Hudson, in New chap.
Jersey, and still more in Pennsylvania.
About one o'clock in the morning of the twenty-
first, more than five days after New York had
been in the exclusive possession of the British,
a fire chanced to break out in a small Avooden
public-house of low character, near Whitehall slip.
The weather had been hot and dry; a fresh gale
was blowing from the southwest; the fire spread
rapidly; and the east side of Broadway, as far as
Exchange place, became a heap of ruins. The
British troops, angry at the destruction of houses
which they had looked upon as their shelter for
the coming winter, haunted with the thought of
incendiaries, and unwilling to own the consequences
of their own careless carousals, seized persons who
had come out to save property from destruction,
and, without trial or inquirj^ killed some with the
bayonet, tossed others into the flames, and one, who
happened to be a royalist, they hanged by the
heels till he died. The wind veering to the south-
east, the fire crossed Broadw^ay above Morris street,
destroyed Trinity church and the Lutheran church,
and, sparing Saint Paul's chapel, extended to Bar-
clay street. The flames were arrested, not so much
by the English guard, as by the sailors whom the
admiral sent on shore, and who paid themselves
by plundering houses that escaped. Of the four
thousand tenements of the city, more than four
hundred were burnt dowm. In his report, Howe,
w^ithout the slightest ground, attributed the acci-
dent to a conspiracy.
When, after the disasters on Long Island, Wash-
130
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, ington needed to know in what quarter the attack
> — Y — ' of the British was to be expected, Nathan Hale,
Sept.* ^ captain in Knowlton's regiment, a graduate of
Yale college, an excellent scholar, comparatively
a veteran in the service, having served with
Knowlton at Cambridge, but three months be-
yond one -and -twenty, yet already betrothed, vo-
lunteered to venture, under a disguise, within the
81. British lines. Just at the moment of his return,
he was seized and carried before General Howe,
in New York; he frankly avowed his name and
rank in the American army, and his purpose, which
his papers confirmed ; and, without a trial, Howe
ordered him to be executed the followino^ morninor
as a spy. That night he was exposed to the inso-
lent cruelty of his jailer. The consolation of seeing
a clergyman was denied him ; his request for a
Bible was refused. The more humane British offi-
cer who was deputed to superintend his execution
furnished him means to write to his mother and
9% to <a comrade in arms. On the morning of the
twenty-second, as he ascended the gallows, he said :
"I only regret that I have but one life to lose
for my country." The provost-marshal destroyed
his letters, as if o-rudo^ing^ his friends a knowledo^e
of the firmness with which he had contemplated
death. His countrymen never pretended that the
beauty of his character should have exempted him
from the penalty which the laws of war imposed;
they complained only that the hours of his impris-
onment were embittered by barbarous harshness.
The Americans kept up the system of wearing
out their enemy by continual skirmishes and
THE EMBARRASSME:NTS of AMERICA. 131
alarms. On the twenty-third, at the ghmmer of chap.
dawn, in a well-planned but unsuccessful attempt ' — y— '
to recapture Randall's island, Thomas Henly, of g^p^'
Charlestown, Massachusetts, "one of the best offi- 23.
cers in the army," lost his life. He was buried by
the side of Knowlton, within the present Trinity
cemetery.
The prisoners of war, five hundred in number, 24.
whom Carleton had sent from Quebec on parole,
were landed on the twenty-fourth from shallops at
Elizabeth point. It wanted but an hour or two
of midnight ; the moon, nearly full, shone cloudless-
ly; ! Morgan, as he sprung from the bow of the
boat, fell on the earth as if to clasp it, and cried:
"0 my country." They all ran a race to Eliza-
bethtow^n, where, too happy to sleep, they passed
the night in singing, dancing, screaming, and rais-
ing the Indian halloo from excess of joy. On
hearing that Morgan was returned, Washington
hastened his exchange, and recommended his pro-
motion. Next to Washington, Morgan w^as the best
officer whom Virginia sent into the field, though
she raises no statue to the incomparable leader
of her light troops.
Meantime, the continental government proceeded
with the dilatoriness and hesitancy which belonged
to the feebleness of its organization. The commit-
tee for confederation and that for foreign alliances
had been appointed in June, in connection with
the committee for declaring independence. Seem-
ingly irreconcilable differences of opinion left con-
gress no heart to continue the work of confedera-
tion; Edward Kutledge despaired of success, unless
132
AMEHICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, the states should appoint a special convention, to
be formed of new representatives, chosen for this
purpose alone.
On the seventeenth, after many weeks of delib-
eration, the members of congress adopted an elabo-
rate plan of a treaty to be proposed to France.
Its terms betray the boundlessness of their aspira-
tions and the lurking uncertainty of their hopes.
They wished France to engage in a separate war
with Great Britain, and by this diversion to leave
America the opportunity of establishing her inde-
pendence. They were willing to assure to Spain
freedom from molestation in its territories; they
renounced in favor of France all eventual con-
quests in the West Indies ; but they claimed the
sole right of acquiring British continental America,
and all adjacent islands, including the Bermudas,
Cape Breton, and Newfoundland. It was America
and not France which first applied the maxim of
monopoly to the fisheries : the king of France
might retain his exclusive rights on the banks of
Newfoundland, as recognised by England in the
treaty of 1763; but his subjects were not to fish
"in the havens, bays, creeks, roads, coasts, or
places," which the United States were to win. In
maritime law, the rising nation avowed the prin-
ciple that free ships impart freedom to goods;
that a neutral power may lawfully trade with a
belligerent. Privateering was not abolished, but
much restricted, and in its worst form was to be
punished as piracy. The young republic, in this
moment of her greatest need, was not willing to
make one common cause with France, nor even
THE EMBARRASSMENTS OF AMERICA. 133
to abstain from commerce with England; she only chap.
oflbred not to assist Great Britain in the war on > — .-^
France, nor trade with that power m contraband g *
goods. At most, the commissioners were permitted 17.
to stipulate that the United States would never
again be subject to the crown or the parliament
of Great Britain; and, in case France should be-
come involved in the war, that neither party
should make a definitive treaty of peace without
six months' notice to the other. The commission-
ers were further instructed to solicit muskets and
bayonets, ammunition, and brass field-pieces, to be
sent under convoy by France ; and it was added :
" It will be proper for you to press for the imme-
diate and expUcit declaration of France in our
favor, upon a suggestion that a reunion with Great
Britain may be the consequence of a delay."
.In the selection of the three members of the
commission, Franklin was placed at its head ; Deane,
with whom Robert Morris had associated an un-
worthy member of his own fjimily as a joint com-
mercial agent in France, was chosen next ; to them
was added Jefferson, who, early in August, had
retired from congress to assist his native state in
adapting its code of laws to its new life as a
republic. When Jefferson declared himself con-
strained to decline the appointment, which to him
was so full of promise, it was given to Arthur Lee.
Thus the United States were to be represented
in France, to its people and to the elder House
of Bourbon, by a treacherous merchant, by a bar- '
rister who, otherwise a patriot, was consumed by
malignant envy, and by Franklin, the greatest
VOL. IX. 12
134
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, diplomatist of his century. Franklin proposed that
— Y^ the commission should also have power to treat
*S^f* forthwith for peace with England.
The attempt to raise up a navy encountered
many difficulties. There was a want of guns,
canvas, and ammunition. In the preceding Decem-
ber, congress had ordered the construction of
thirteen ships of w^ar, each of which w^as to carry
from twenty-four to thirty-two guns; but not one
of them w^as ready for sea, and the national
cruisers consisted of about tw^elve merchant vessels,
purchased and equipped at intervals. The officers,
of whom the first formal appointment w^as made
on the twenty-second of December, 1775, and in-
cluded the names of Nicholas Biddle and John
Paul Jones, were . necessarily taken from merchant
ships. The unfitness of the highest officer in the
naval service, as displayed in his management of
a squadron which had gone to sea in the spring,
had just been exposed by an inquiry, and, in spite
of the support of the eastern states, he had been
censured by a vote of congress; yet, from tender-
ness to his brother, who was a member of con-
gress, a motion for his dismissal was obstructed,
and a majority ordered the aged and incompetent
man to resume the command, which he was sure
to disgrace. American privateers, in the year 1776,
captured three hundred and forty-two British ves-
sels; and these volunteer adventures w^ere so lucra-
tive, that none of the comparatively few sailors
who entered upon the public service would enlist
for more than a twelvemonth, and most of them
would engage only for one cruise. Hopkins did
THE EMBARRASSMENTS OF AMERICA. L35
not lead his squadron again to sea; but John chap.
Paul Jones and others gained honor as comman-
ders of single ships in the public service.
The great need of the country was an effective
force on land. Before the middle of June, the
committee on spies, of which John Adams and
Edward Rutledge were members, were desired to
revise the articles of war; yet more than three
months elapsed before the adoption of an improved
code, formed on the British regulations.
The country was upon the eve of a dissolution
of its army ; Washington, almost a year before, had
foretold to congress the evils of their system with
as much accuracy as if he " had spoken with a
prophetic spirit." His condition at present was
more critical than before, for a larger forc^ was
arrayed against him, and the enthusiasm of the
people had been deadened by misfortunes and
time. An imskilled volunteer is no match for a
well-trained veteran. When, under the first impulse
of irritated feeling, men fly to arms, the boldest
and most energetic are the first to come forw\ard;
as the season of cooler reasoning returns, the most
forward begin to murmur at the inequality of
service for the common good. Levies of militia,
poorly equipped, suddenly called for a few weeks
from the tender scenes of domestic life, unused
to the din of arms, and conscious of their own
inexperience and ignorance, are distrustful of them-
selves when opposed to skilful and well-appointed
troops, and fly from the shadow of danger. Un-
practised in subordination, they are made more
restless by the change of lodging and food; their
136
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP.
VII.
16.
thoughts go back to their families, their fields,
their flocks and herds; they begin to repine, and
dejection brings on sickness and death, or an un-
conquerable yearning for home. They cost as much
as a regular army of twice their number. Yet
raw troops, levied for four months, or even but for
one, formed the chief part of Washington's force.
The want of good officers was still more to be
complained of; especially those from New England
did not fitly represent the talent, and military
zeal of that part of the country. The war had
lasted nearly seventeen months before congress
could be partially divested of their dread of a
standing army, or give up the idea of primarily
relying for defence on the militia of the states
neare'st the scene of war. At last, on the sixteenth
of September, they resolved, that eighty-eight bat-
talions be enlisted as soon as possible to serve
during the war; but the inducements which they
offered for such enlistment were inadequate ; more-
over, they devised no way of raising regiments,
except by apportioning to the thirteen states their
respective quotas; and this reference of the subject
to so many separate legislatures or governments
could not but occasion a delay of several months,
even if the best will should prevail. Congress had
no magazines ; they therefore further left the
states to provide arms and clothing. To complete
the difficulty of organizing a national army, they
secured to the several states the appointment of
all officers, except general officers, even to the
filling up of vacancies ; so that no discretion w^aa
reserved to the commander- in -chipf, or formally
THE EMBARRASSMENTS OF AMERICA. 137
even to themselves, to promote the meritorious, chap.
Vacancies must remain undisposed of till the states, v — ^^
each for itself, should intervene ; and it was feared ^l^^'
that those governments would be swayed by the 16.
querulous importunities of the least worthy appli-
cants.
Before he received official notice of the new
arrangement, Washington borrowed hours allotted
to sleep to convey to congress with sincerity and
freedom his thoughts on the proper organization
of the army. For himself he wished no recom-
pense but such changes as w^ould enable him to
give satisfaction to the public; but, said he, "expe-
rience, which is the best criterion to work by, so
fully, clearly, and decisively reprobates the practice
of trusting to militia, that no man who regards
order, regularity, and economy, or his own honor,
character, or peace of mind, will risk them upon
this issue. The evils to be apprehended from a
standing army are remote, and, situated as we are,
not at all to be dreaded ; but the consequence of
w^inting one is certain and' inevitable ruin. This
contest is not likely to be the work of a day;
and, to carry on the war systematically, you must
establish your army upon a permanent footing."
The materials he said were excellent; to induce
enlistments for the continuance of the war, he
urged the offer of a sufficient bounty; for the
officers, he advised proper care in their nomina-
tion, and such pay as Avould encourage "gentle-
men " and persons of liberal sentiments to engage :
in this manner they would in a little time have
an army able to cope with any adversary.
12*
138
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP.
VII.
These earnest expostulations commanded little
more respect from congress than a reference to
a committee ; three of its members had already
been deputed to repair to the camp on Harlem
heights, but their mission was attended by no
perceptible results ; troops continued to be levied
by requisitions on the several states, and officers
to be nominated by local authorities, without due
regard to their qualifications. Washington, there-
fore, reluctantly bade adieu to every present hope
of getting an efficient army ; and yet neither the
neglect, distrust, and interference of congress, nor
the occasional decline of zeal in the people of
some of the states, nor the want of able or even
of competent subordinates, nor the melting away
of his force by the returning home of his troops
at the end of their term of enlistment, could ever
for one moment make him waver in his purpose
of perseverance to the end. No provocation could
force from his pen one w^ord of personal petulance,
or even the momentary expression of a wish to
resign his place.
His reiterated desire that the officers might be
selected from among " gentlemen " meant no more
than that the choice might fall on men who would
be alive to the sense of their responsibility; he
befriended and honored true merit wherever it was
found. Notwithstanding the warmth of his entreaties
for a standing force, Washington always trusted the
people ; his sympathy with them was perfect, and
,his abiding judgment of them just ; but he washed
the men of the people, freeholders, husbands, and
fathers, to be trained under able commanders, and
THE EMBARRASSMENTS OF AMERICA. 139
bound to the country and to one another to per- chap.
severe in arms like himself until their Avork was
done. So it had been in England during the civil
wars of the republic. This organization could not be
fully attained by the United States, but the people,
without being permanently embodied, proved their
efficiency by untiring zeal and vigilance and
courage ; coming forward as militia, they ever re-
mained the chief support of their country, and it
was by them that American liberty was asserted,
defended, and made triumphant. To undisciplined
militia belonged the honors of Concord and Lex-
ington ; militia withstood the British at Bunker
Hill ; by the aid of militia an army of veterans
was driven from Boston ; and we shall see the
unprosperous tide of affairs, in the central states, in
the north, and in the south, turned by the sudden
uprising of devoted volunteers. Yet, for the time,
the bravest had moments of despondency. Robert
Morris, the most sanguine of American statesmen,
feared that General Howe would not leave time
for a diversion from France ; " I confess," he wrote,
"as things appear to me, the prospect is gloomy."
CHAPTER Vni.
THE COURSE OF OPINION IN ENGLAND.
CHAP.
VIII.
Oct
September 28 — November, 1776.
In England the national spirit was every daj
becoming more and more vehement against the
Americans; and as their demand had changed from
redress to independence, ninety-nine out of one
hundred of their old well-wishers desired their
subjection. The account of the success on Long
Island, received just before the end of September,
strengthened the hope that the junction of the
armies of Howe and Carleton would reduce the
province of New York, restore a legislative gov-
ernment under the crown, dissolve the loosely
joined confederacy, and force the colonies to make
their peace one by one. While Germain attributed
"infinite honor to Lord Howe, the all-inspecting
admiral so deservedly beloved and admired by
men and officers," he strained after words to praise
"the inborn courage and active spirit" of General
Howe, whom he described as "uniting to the fire
THE COURSE OF OPINION IN ENGLAND. 141
■
of youth all the wisdom of experience," and whom chap.
the king, as a public testimony of favor, on the
eighteenth of October, nomhiated a knight-com-
panion of the order of the Bath. The cause of
the Americans seeming now to be lost, Fox wrote
to Eockingham : "It should be a point of honor
among us all to support the American pretensions
in adversity as much as we did in their pros-
perity, and never desert those who have acted
unsuccessfully upon whig principles."
The session of parliament was at hand, and the
whig party was divided ; Rockingham, Burke, and
their friends proposed to stay away, assigning as
their motive that their opposition did but strength-
en the ministry by exhibiting their weakness.
Adhering still more closely than ever to the prin-
ciples of free government. Fox remonstrated with
them earnestly and wisely: "I conjure you, over
and over again, to consider the importance of the
crisis ; secession at present would be considered as
running away from the conquerors, and giving up
a cause which we think no longer tenable." Rock-
mgham and Burke occupied a position which was
not tenable ; and they were doubtful what policy
to choose. To an insurrection that seemed in its
last agony they would not offer independence ;
they therefore kept aloof for the time, willing to
step in on the side of mercy when the ministers
should have beaten down the rebellion.
The king, as he opened parliament on the thirty- si.
first, derived from the declaration of independence
•' the one great advantage of unanimity at home ; "
and he calmed moderate men by expressing his
142
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP.
VIII.
desire "to restore to the Americans the blessings
of law and liberty."
Lord John Cavendish, who divided the house on
the address, objected to the policy and the prin-
ciples of the ministry : " The unhappy differences
w4th the colonies took their rise from parliamen-
tary proceedings; yet, by the fatal omission of
parliamentary authority, the commissioners, nomi-
nated apparently for peace, have no legal powers
but of giving or withholding pardons ; and they
cannot relax the severity of a single penal act of
parliament. The principles operating among the
inhabitants of the colonies in their commotions
bear an exact analogy with those which support
the most valuable part of our constitution ; to
extirpate them by the sword, in any part of his
majesty's dominions, would establish precedents the
most dan^i^erous to the liberties of this kino:dom."
Johnstone justified the Americans, and railed at
the king's speech as a compound of hypocrisy.
" It is impossible for this island to conquer and
hold America," said Wilkes ; " we must recall our
fleets and armies, repeal all acts injurious to the
Americans, and restore their charters, if we would
restore unity to the empire." It was said in de-
bate, that the ministry had only the option of
abandoning America or carrying it by the sword.
"No," said Lord North, "the first measure will be
.for some of the colonies to break off from the
general confederacy. Reconciliation has constantly
been my object; it is my wish to use victory with
moderation rather than as an object of triumph."
The house was reminded by Barre that both
THE COURSE OF OPINION IN ENGLAND. 143
France and Spain might interfere. Germain re- cuxv.
plied : " Do you suppose the House of Bourbon
would like to have the spirit of independence
cross the Atlantic, or their own colonists catch fire
at the unlimited rights of mankind? They will
not be so blind to their own interests. General
Howe will put New York at the mercy of the
kinir; after which the lepjislature will be restored."
"Administration," said Fox, "deserve nothing but
reproach for having brought the Americans into
such a situation that it is impossible for them to
pursue any other conduct than what they have
pursued. In declaring independence they have
done no more than the English did against James
the Second. The noble lord who spoke last prides
himself on a legislature being reestablislied in New
York ; it has been very well said that the speech
is a hypocritical one ; in truth, there is not a little
hypocrisy in supposing that a king," — and he
made the allusion more direct, by ironically except-
ing George the Third, as one who really loved
liberty, — "that a common king should be soli-
citous to establish anything that depends on a
popular assembly. Kings govern by means of
popular assemblies, only when they cannot do
without them ; to suppose a king fond of that
mode of governing, is to suppose a chimera. It
cannot exist. It is contrary to the nature of
things. But if this happy time of law and liberty
is to be restored to America, w^hy w^as it ever
disturbed ? It reigned there till the abominable
doctrine of gaining money by taxes infatuated the
heads of our statesmen. Why did you destroy the
2.
144 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, fair work of so many ages, in order to reestab-
lish it by the bayonets of disciplined Germans?
If we are reduced to the dilemma of conquer-
ing or abandoning America, I am for abandoning
America."
This intrepid concession of independence to the
colonies thrilled the house of commons. "I never
in my life heard a more masterly speech," said
Gibbon. "I never knew any one better on any
occasion," said Burke.
Nov. The division left the ministry in the imdisputed
possession of power in parliament, and confident
of early success in reducing America; but letters
from General Howe to the twenty-fifth of Septem-
ber, which were received by Germain late at night
on Saturday the second of November, crushed their
hopes of an easy triumph. The occupation of New
York city and of Paulus-hook was announced ; but
it w\as plainly seen that the further progress of the
army for the season was precarious; that the
second division of Hessians had not arrived ; that
the loyalists among the Americans were not dis-
posed to serve in the war; that Albany was safe,
unless Burgoyne should march upon it with the
aid of Indians; that there would be no junction
with Carleton; that Washington was too strongly
posted to be attacked in front, and that there
were innumerable difficulties in the way of turn-
in ir him on either side ; that there was not the
smallest prospect of finishing the contest this cam-
paign ; and that success in the next was to be
hoped only from such vast preparations as would
preclude all thoughts of further resistance. For
THE COURSE OF OPINION IN ENGLAND. 145
this end General Howe asked for ten llne-of-battle chap.
, , V III.
ships with supernumerary seamen to jom the fleet
in February, and for an indefmite number of
recruits from Europe.
These demands were embarrassing ; Germain
must either meet them, which was impossible, or
admit the prospect of failure in the next year.
Tliese gloomy forebodings he kept to himself,
though liis runners about town w^ere taught to
screen the ministry by throwing the blame of
delays upon Clinton, Carleton, Howe, and others,
as mad or ignorant, rash or inactive ; but he
could not conceal the second public declaration
of the commissioners, in which the two brothers
pledged the ministers to concur in the revisal of
all the acts of parliament by which the Americans
were aggrieved. To test the sincerity of this
offer, Loid Jolm Cavendish, on the sixth, moved
that the house should resolve itself into a com-
mittee to consider of that revisal. The motion
perplexed Lord North, who certainly did not w^ish
to root up every chance of reconciliation ; but the
momentary exigency of the debate outweighed the
consideration of a remote people, and forced him
to say : " I will never allow the legislative claims
of this country to be a grievance, nor relax in
pursuing those claims, so long as the Americans,
as subjects or independent states, dispute our
power and right of legislation. Let them acknowl-
edge the right, and I shall be ready, not only to
remedy real grievances, but even, in some instances,
to bend to their prejudices." In this manner the
prime minister, with his eyes wide open to the
VOL. IX. 13
146 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, impending calamities, suffered himself to be tlie
' — V — ' instrument of the system which in his heart he at
1T76 •
^^^ ' that very time condemned as fraught with mischief
to the king and to the country. Fox directed atten-
tion to the two principal grievances which needed
revision : the assumption of power to raise taxes,
and of power to modify or annihilate charters at
pleasure. "It is impossible," replied Wedderburn,
"to enter upon the question of taxation and char-
ters as a means of reconciliation; the one prelimi-
nary point which must be settled is independence;
till the spirit of independency is subdued, revisions'
are idle ; the Americans have no terms to demand
from your justice, whatever they may hope from
your grace and mercy." Lord John Cavendish, on
the division, obtained less than fifty votes.
From this time, Burke and the friends of Rock-
ingham made an ostentatious display of their
secession from parliament: they attended in the
morning on private business, but so soon as public
business was introduced, they made a bow to the
speaker and withdrew ; leaving the ministers to
carry their measures without opposition or debate.
But this policy did not suit the ardent genius of
Fox, whose sagacity and fearlessness had now
made him, at twenty-seven, the most important
member of the house of commons.
The character of this unique man was not a
chapter of contradictions; each part of his nature
was in harmony with all the rest. With talents,
good -nature, and truthfulness, he had no restrain-
ing principles, and looked down with contempt on
those who had. Priding himself on ignorance of
THE COURSE OF OPINION IN ENGLAND. 147
every self-denying virtue, an adept in debauch chap.
and vain of his excesses, he feared nothing. Un-
hicky at the gaming-table beyond all calculation
of chances, draining the cup of pleasure to the
dregs, fond of loose women and beloved by them,
the delight of profligates, the sport of usurers,
impoverished by his vices, he braved scandal, and
gloried in a lordly recklessness of his inability to
pay his debts, as if superb ostentation in misfortune
raised him above all his fellow-men. lie had a
strong will; but he never used it to bridle his
passions, even though their indulgence wronged
his own father, or corrupted his young admirers.
Born to wealth and rank and easy access to the
service of the king, at heart an aristocrat, he could
scoff at monarchy and hold the language of a
leveller and a demagogue. He loved poetry and
elegant letters, the songs of Homer above all ; but
science was too dull for him, and even the style
and lucidity and novelty of Adam Smith could not
charm the licentious, rollicking statesman to the
study of political economy. His uncurbed licen-
tiousness seemed rather to excite than to exhaust
his lofty powers; his perceptions were quick and
instinctively true ; and in his wildest dissipation he
retained an unextinguishable passion for activity
of intellect. Living as though men and women
were instruments of pleasure, he yet felt himself
destined for great things, and called forth to the
service of mankind. To be talked about, he would
stake all he had and more on a wager; but
the all-conquering instinct of his ambition drove
him to the house of commons. There his genius
148 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, was at home: and that body cherished him with
VIII. . . . .
' — Y — ' the indulgent pride which it always manifests to
^^^' those who keep up its high reputation with the
world. A knotty brow, a dark brown complexion,
thick, shaggy eyebrows, and a compact frame
marked a rugged audacity and a commanding
energy, which made him rude and terrible as an
adversary ; but with all this he had a loveliness
of temper which so endeared him to his friends
that the survivors among them never ceased the
praise of the sweetness and gentleness of his
familiar intercourse. It was natural to him to ven-
erate greatness like Edmund Burke's; and a wound
in his affections easily moved him to tears. His
life was dissolute; his speech was austere. His
words were all pure English; he took no pains to
hunt after them ; the aptest came at his call, and
seemed to belong to him. Every part of his
discourse lived and moved. He never gave up
strength of statement for beauty of expression;
and never stopped to fill up gaps with fine
phrases. His healthy diction was unaffectedly sim-
])\e and nervous, always effective, sometimes majes-
tic and resounding, rarely ornate, and then only
when he impressed a saying of poet or philosopher
to tip his argument with fire. He never dazzled
with brilliant colors, but could startle by boldness
in the contrast of light and shade. He forced his
hearers to be attentive and docile ; for he spoke
only when he had something to say that needed
to be said, and compelled admiration because he
made himself understood. What was entangled he
could unfold quickly and lucidly; now speaking
THE COURSE OF OPINION IN ENGLAND. 149
with copious fluency, and now discussing point by chap.
point; at one time confining debate within the nar-
rowest limits, and again speaking as if inspired to
plead the welfare of all mankind. He had a won-
derful gift at finding and bringing together what
he wanted, though lying far off and apart. It was
his wont to march straight forward to his end ; but
he knew how to turn aside from an attack, to
retreat with his eye ever on his enemy, and
then, by an unexpected reversion, to strike him
suddenly as with talons. When involved in dispute,
he dashed at the central idea, w^hich was of power
to decide the question ; grasped it firmly and held
it fast; turned it over and over on every side;
presented it in the most various aspects; came
back to dwell upon it with fresh force; renew^ed
blow after blow till it became annealed like steel.
He hit the nail again and again, and always on
the head, till he drove it home into the minds of
his hearers; and when he was beaten by the ma-
jority, he still bore aw^ay the palm as a wrestler.
His merits, as summed up by Mackintosh, were
■^reason, simplicity, and vehemence."
Yet Fox was great only as a speaker; nay, his
sphere was still narrower: he was great only as a
speaker in the house of commons, and there great
only as a speaker in opposition. He was too
skilful in controversy to be able to present the
connections and relations of events with the com-
prehensive fairness of an historian; and his strength
went out from him when he undertook only to
tell what had been done. He failed as a states-
man, not from defect of heart, but from the uncer-
13*
150 AMERICAN Ds^DEPENDENCE.
CHAP, tainty which attends the want of fixed principles,
' — v~ and which left him exposed to the allurements of
*^^y^* any promising coalition ; but he was the very man
to storm a citadel. In running down a ministry,
his voice hallooed on the pack, and he was sure
to be the first in at the death. And now, in
the house of commons, this master of debate had
declared for the independence of the United States
CHAPTER IX.
THE BORDER WAR IN THE NORTH AND IN THE SOUTR
July — November, 1776.
All hopes of an early subjugation of "the rebels" ^^^^•
were growing dim. Subordinates in Canada paid
court to the " confidential circle " of Germain by
echoing censures of Carleton, especially that he
had chilled the zeal of the Indians by forbidding
them to pass the boundary of his province.
Early in September, Hamilton, the lieutenant-
governor of Detroit, wrote from his district directly
to the secretary of state, promising that small
parties "of the savages assembled" by him "in
council," "chiefs and warriors from the Ottawas,
Chippewas, Wyandots, and Potawatomies," w^ith the le.
Senecas, would "fall on the scattered settlers on
the Ohio" and its branches; and he checked every
impulse of mercy towards the Americans, by say-
ing that "their arrogance, disloyalty, and impru-
dence had justly drawn upon them this deplorable
sort of war." The British people were guiltless of
152
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, these outra2:es; it was Germain and his selected
IX.
V — ^.^^ agents who hounded on the savages to scalp and
^JJ^J massacre the settlers of the new country, enjoined
Sept. with fretful restlessness the extension of the system
along all the border from New York to Georgia,
and chid every commander w^ho showed signs of
relenting.
In 1769, Carle ton had urged the ministry to
hold the line of communication between the Saint
Lawrence and New York, as the means of preven1>
ing a separation of the colonies; he now looked
upon the office of recovering that line as reserved
of right for himself In the next year's campaign
he proposed to advance to Albany; for the present
he designed only to acquire the mastery of Lake
Champlain, and did not imagine that the govern-
ment wished for more. In constructing vessels of
war on these waters, the Americans had the advan-
tage in nothing but time ; their skilful ship-builders
were elsewhere crowded with employment in fitting
out public vessels and privateers; the scanty naval
stores which could be spared had to be transported
from tide-water to the lake, over almost impassable
roads; and every stick of timber was to be cut in
the adjacent woods. When determined zeal had
constructed a fleet of eight gondolas, three row-
galleys, and four sloops or schooners, there were
no naval officers nor mariners nor gunners to take
charge of them. The chief command fell on Ar-
nold, a landsman; his second was Waterbury, a
brigradier in the Connecticut militia; the crews
were mostly soldiers.
On the other hand, Carleton was aided by con-
THE BORDER WAR IN THE NORTH AND IN THE SOUTH. 153
structors from England, from the fleet in the Saint chap.
Lawrence, and from the province of Quebec. The ^ — ^^
admiralty contributed naval equipments and mate- ^]j^J
rials for ship-building in abundance; it sent from ^^v^
the British yards three vessels of war, fully pre-
pared for service, in the expectation that they
could be dragged up the rapids of the Richelieu ;
two hundred or more flat-boats were built at Mon-
treal and hauled to Saint Johns, whence a deep
channel leads to the lake. The numerous army,
composed in part of the men of Brunswick and
of Waldeck, were most amply provided with artil-
lery, and were flushed with confidence of easy
victory. But while the vessels and transports were
being built, or trarisferred to Lake Champlain, the
troops for nearly three months wer^ trained as
sharp-shooters ; were exercised in charging upon
imao-ined enemies in a wood ; were tauo:ht to row\
They became familiar with the manners of the
savage warriors, of whom four hundred in canoes
were to form their van on the lake ; and they
loved to w^atch the labors of the boat-builders.
An attempt was made to drag the large vessels
by land round the portage of the Richelieu; but
it w^as given up, as too costly and too slow, after
they had been moved a hundred paces, and they
were takdn in pieces, to be reconstructed at Saint
Johns. The work went forward with unexpected
rapidity. The "Inflexible," which w^as three-masted,
and carried eighteen or twenty twelve -pounders
and ten smaller guns, was rebuilt in twenty-eight
days after its keel was laid. About seven hundred
sailors, and the best young naval officers, were
154 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, picked from the ships of war and transports to
man and command the fleet.
Till October, Arnold roamed the lake without a
check ; on the fourth of that month, Carleton began
10. his cautious advance ; on the tenth, all his fleet
was in motion. Arnold, whose judgment did not
equal his courage, moored his squadron in the bay
between Valcour island and the main. This choice
of a station met with the w^arm approval of
General Gates; but one more absurd or more dan-
gerous could not have been made, for it left the
great channel of the lake undisputed to his ene-
11. mies, who, on the morning of the eleventh, with
a wind from the northwest, passed between Great
and Valcour islands, and came into his rear. They
had much more than twice his weight of metal,
twice as many fighting vessels, and skilled seamen
and oflicers against landsmen. He awoke too late
to the hopelessness of his position ; but his auda-
city did not fail him ; forming a line at anchor from
Valcour to the main, he advanced in the schooner
"Royal Savage," supported by his row -galleys.
The wind favored him, while it kept ofl* the
"Inflexible," which was already to the south of
him ; but the " Carleton " was able to get into
action, and was sustained by the artillery-boats. Of
these, one w\as sunk, though its men were saved ;
but the best seamanship and gunnery gained the
advantage ; the galleys were driven back ; the
"Eoyal Savage," crippled in its masts and rigging
fell to the leeward, and was stranded on Valcoui
island, whence Arnold, with the crew, made hif
way to the " Congress." Meantime the " Carleton,*
THE BORDER WAR IN THE NORTH AND IN THE SOUTH 155
accompanied by the artillery-boats, had the dar- chap.
ins: to beat up against the breeze, till it came • — y —
within musket-shot of the American line, when it q^.^'
opened fire from both sides. The "Congress," on n.
which Arnold was obliged to act as gunner, was
hurt in her main -mast and yards, was hulled
twelve times, and hit seven times between wind
and water; the gondola "New York" lost all her
officers except her captain; in the "Washington,"
the first lieutenant was killed, the captain and
master wounded, the main -mast shot through so
that it became useless. A gondola was sunk. Of
the British artillery-boats, one, or perhaps two, went
down. The "Carleton," which, owing to the wind,
could receive no succor, ' suffered severely; Dacres,
its captain, fell senseless from a blow; Brown, a
lieutenant of marines, lost an arm; but Pellew, a
lad of nineteen, who succeeded to the command,
carried on the fight, to prevent Arnold's escape.
Just before dark, when sixty or more of the Amer-
icans and forty or more of the British had been
killed or wounded, the artillery-boats, on the signal
of recall, towed the " Carleton " out of the reach
of shot. At eight in the evening, the British fleet
anchored, having their left wing near the main-
land, the right near Yalcour island, with several
armed boats still further to the right, to guard
the passage between Valcour and Great island; and
they were confident that at the dawn of the next
day all the "rebel" vessels must be captured or
destroyed. Arnold and his highest officers. Water- -
bury and Wigglesworth, saw no hope but in run-
ning the blockade. It was the night of the new
156
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, moon, and the air was hazy; an hour or two be-
fore midnight they had the dauntless hardihood to
hoist anchor silently in the thick darkness; Wig-
glesworth, in the "Trumbull," led the retreat; the
gondolas and small vessels followed ; then came
Waterbury in the "Washington," and, last of all,
Arnold in the " Congress ; " and, having a fair wind
they stole unobserved through the British fleet,
close to its left wino^.
12. When day revealed their wonderful escape, Carle-
ton could not restrain his anger. Advancing slowly
13. against a southerly breeze, in the morning of the
thirteenth he came in sio:ht of the fu^-itives near
the island of Four Winds; at half-past twelve he
w^as near enough to begin a cannonade. Water-
bury wished to run his ship ashore ; but Arnold
hoped still for a chance to give battle. At half-
past one the wind came suddenly out of the north,
striking the British sails first; the "Washington"
was overtaken near Split Rock, and compelled to
strike ; the " Congress," with four gondolas, keeping
up a running fight of five hours, suffered great loss,
and was chased into a small creek in Panton on
the east side of the lake. To save them from his
pursuers, Arnold set them on fire, with their colors
flying. The last to go on shore, he formed their
crews, and, in sight of the English ships, marched
off in perfect order. His fame for courage rose
higher than before, but at the expense of a fleet,
which he had recklessly sacrificed without public
^ benefit.
Carleton reproved his prisoners for engaging in
the rebellion, found an excuse for them in the
THE BORDER WAR IN THE NORTH AND IN THE SOUTR 157
orders of the governor of Connecticut, whose of- chap.
ficiiil character the king still recognised, and dis-
missed them on their parole.
On the fourteenth, he landed at Crown Point.
Master of the lake, he was within two hours' sail
of Ticonderoga, which had for its garrison not
more than three thousand effective men, with
twenty-five hundred more at Mount Independence,
the new post on the eastern side of Lake Cham-
plain. Had he pushed forward and invested the
place, it must have surrendered for want of pro-
visions. But he never for a moment entertained
6uch a design ; to Kiedesel, who joined him on the
twenty-second, he announced his intention to take 22.
back the army into winter- quarters in Canada.
Riedesel went near enough to Ticonderoga to see
it from a hill, and was persuaded that it could
easily be taken ; but Carleton, who did not know
that he was already superseded by Burgoyne, re-
serving that conquest for a glorious opening of his
next campaign, waited only for tidings from Howe.
News of the battle on Long Island reached him on
the twenty-seventh ; and on the next day his army 27, 28,
began its return. On the third of November, his Nov.
rear-guard abandoned Crown Point. Many British
officers were astonished at his precipitate retreat,
which seemed to the Americans a shameful and
unaccountable flight. Three days later, there was 6.
not one barrel of flour in Ticonderoga. The Con-
necticut militia soon returned home ; the garrison,
which was left by Gates under the command of
Wayne, a gallant young colonel, consisted nomi-
nally of only twenty-five hundred men; but the
VOL. IX. 14
158 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, sick were very numerous, and perishing in misery;
and all suffered for want of clothing. The term
of the Pennsylvanians was to expire on the fifth
of January; and they were unwilling to reenlist
before returning home.
July. When Moultrie and his brave garrison had re-
pulsed the attack on the south, Lee at Charleston,
in the utmost haste, used his undeserved glory to
extort from congress in advance an indemnity for
the possible forfeiture of his property in England ;
and Kutledge, the president of the state to which
he had seemingly rendered the greatest service,
fearing his disgust, or some other ill consequence,
consented to ask that " the enthusiast " might be
gratified with thirty thousand dollars.
In July, Jonathan Bryan of Savannah, on the
evening of his arrival at Charleston, persuaded Lee,
to whom he was a stranger, that Saint Augustine,
and with it East Florida, could easily be taken.
Without further reflection or inquiry, Lee, the next
morning, announced to the continental troops on
parade, that he had planned for them a safe, sure,
and remunerative expedition, of which the very
large booty should all be their own. He called it
a secret one, but let everybody know its destina-
August. tion. In the second week of August, when the
heavy dews, the heat, and exhalations from the
rice -fields filled the air with death, he hastily
marched off the Virginia and North Carolina
troops, without one necessary article, without a
field-piece, or even a medicine-chest. Howe of
North Carolina and Moultrie soon followed; and
about four hundred and sixty men of South Caro-
THE BORDER WAR IN THE NORTH AND IN THE SOUTH 159
lina, with two field-pieces, were sent to Savannah citap.
by water along the inland route. On the eigh- ^^-y^
teenth, Lee reviewed his collective force and a August
Georgia battalion on the green at Yamacraw, and,
in a few days, advanced the Virginia regiment and
a part of the troops of South Carolina to Sunbury.
There nearly all the officers, even those from
South Carolina, were seized by a violent fever,
and fourteen or fifteen men w ere buried each day :
especially, the noble battalion from the valley of
Virginia, pining for the pure air of the Blue ridge,
was thinned by sickness and death. By this time
Lee sought to shift from himself to Moultrie the
further conduct of the expedition; and Moultrie
could only reply, that there were no available re-
sources which could render success possible. No
enterprise during the war showed such w^ant of
judgment in its designing, or of executive ability
in its conduct. Early in September came the order Sept.
from congress directing Lee to repair to the north,
to become commander-in-chief in case of mishap
to Washington ; he at once began the journey,
taking with him all his continental force ; but im-
portunities at Charleston wrung from him leave
for the North Carolina troops to stay behind.
Lee, at his departure, left a fearful contest
raging in the mountains of the two Carolinas and
Georgia. It was the fruit of the elaborately con-
certed plan to bring down upon defenceless fron-
tiers an enemy whose manner of warfare was
the indiscriminate murder of men, children, and
women. The Cherokees heard with amazement July,
that war raged between their father over the
160 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, water and their elder brothers of the Carolinas,
^s.^^ — ' for a war between men speaking the same lan-
Juiy.' S'^*'^©^ ^^*^^ unknown to them; but Cameron and
Stuart, British agents, well skilled in the methods
of inflaming the savages, and having an almost
unlimited credit on the British exchequer, swayed
them by lavish largesses, the hopes of spoil, the
promise of aid from a British army by way of Pen-
sacola, and the desire of extending their hunting-
grounds over wasted settlements. The settlers on
the Watauga and the forks of the Holston had
been tempted to adhere to the party of the crown;
but, with few exceptions, the men of what is now
eastern Tennessee were faithful to the patriot cause.
Twice they received warning from the Overhill
Cherokees to remove from their habitations; but
the messenger brought back a defiance, and threats
from the district then called Fincastle county in
Virginia. So stood the Cherokees when a deputa-
tion of thirteen or more Indians came to them
from the Six Nations, the Shawnees and Delawares,
the Mingoes, and the Ottawas. The moment, they
said, was come, to recover their lost lands. The
Shawnees produced their war-tokens, of which the
young Cherokee warriors laid hold, showing in re-
turn a war-hatchet received about six years before
from the northern Indians. When the news of the
arrival of Clinton and CornwalHs off Charleston
reached the lower settlements of the Cherokees,
they took up the war- club, and on each side
of the mountains all their warriors, twenty-five
hundred in number, prepared for deeds of blood.
The Overhills collected a thousand skins for moo-
THE BORDER WAR IN THE NORTH AND IN THE SOUTH. 161
casins, and beat their maize into flour. A few chap.
whites were to go with them to invite all the ^^-^^
king's men to join them ; after which they were j^j
to kill and drive all whom they could find. While
Henry Stuart was seeking to engage the Choctaws
and Chickasaws as allies, the Cherokees sent a
message to the Creeks with the northern war-
tokens ; but that powerful nation stood in fear of
the Americans, and returned for answer that "the
Cherokees had plucked the thorn out of their foot,
and were welcome to keep it." The rebuft^ came
too late ; at the news that the lower settlements
had struck the borders of South Carolina the war-
song was everywhere sung; the wily warriors of
all the western settlements fell upon the inhab-
itants of eastern Tennessee, and roved as far as
the cabins on Clinch river and the Wolf-hills, which
we now call Abingdon. The common peril caused
a general rising of the people of eastern Tennessee
and southwestern Virginia, of North Carolina and
the uplands of South Carolina. The 0 verb ills re-
ceived a check on the twentieth of July at the
Island Flats, in what Haywood, the venerable his-
torian of Tennessee, calls a "miracle of a battle,"
for not one white man was mortally wounded,
while the Cherokees lost forty. The next day, a
party was repulsed from Fort Watauga by James
Robertson and his garrison of forty men. Colonel
Christian, with Virginia levies, joined on their
march by troops from North Carolina and Wa-
tauga, soon made themselves masters of the upper
settlements on the Tellico and the Tennessee ; but
when the Cherokees sued for peace, the avenging
162
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, party granted it, except that towns like Tuskega,
where a captive boy had lately been burnt alive,
^vere reduced to ashes.
The w^arriors of the lower settlements, who began
the war, at daybreak on the first of July poured
down upon the frontiers of South Carolina, kilhng
and scalping all persons wdio fell into their power,
without distinction of age or sex. The people had
parted w^ith their best rifles to the defenders of
Charleston ; and now flew for safety to stockade
forts. The Indians were joined by the agent Cam-
eron and a small band of white men, who crossed
the mountains to promote a rising of the numerous
loyalists in upper South Carolina. Eleven hundred
men of that state, under the lead of Williamson,
August, made head against the invaders, and, in August,
destroyed the Cherokee towns on the Keowee and
the Seneca and on the one side of the Tugaloo,
while a party of Georgians laid waste those on
the other. Then, drawling nearer the region of
precipices and waterfalls, which mark the eastern
side of the Alleghanies, his army broke up the
towns on the Whitewater, the Toxaway, the Es-
tatoe, and in the beautiful valley of Jocassa, leaving
not one to the east of the Oconee mountain. The
outcasts, who had so lately been engaged in scalp-
ing and murdering, fled to the Creeks, whose neu-
trality was respected.
In September, leaving a well-garrisoned fort on
the Seneca, and marching up War-woman's creek,
Williamson passed through Rabun gap, destroyed
the towns on the Little Tennessee as far as the
Unica mountain, and then toiled over the dividing
Sept.
IX.
1776.
THE BORDER WAR IN THE NORTH AND IN THE SOUTH. 163
ridge into the Hiwassee valley, sparing or razing chap.
the towns at his will. There he was joined by
Rutherford of North Carolina, who had promptly
assembled in the district of Salisbury an army of
more than two thousand men, crossed the Allegha-
nies at the Swannanoa gap, forded the French
Broad, and, by the trace which still bears his name,
penetrated into the middle and valley towns, of
which he laid w^aste six-and-thirty. " The Chero-
kees," wrote Germain, in November, to his trusty
agent, " must be supported, for they have declared
for us ; I expect w^ith some impatience to hear
from you of the success of your negotiation with
the Creeks and Choctaws, and that you have pre-
vfiiled on them to join the Cherokees. I cannot
doubt of your being able, under such advantageous
circumstances, to engage them in a general con-
federacy against the rebels in defence of those
liberties of which they are so exceedingly jealous,
and in the full enjoyment of which they have
been always protected by the king." But the
Choctaw^s never inclined to the war; the Chick-
asaws seasonably receded ; the Creeks kept wisely
at home ; and dearly did the Cherokees aby their
rising. Before Germain's letter was written, they
were forced to beg for mercy. At a talk in
Charleston, in February, 1777, the Man-killer said :
" You have destroyed my homes, but it is not my
eldest brother's fault; it is the fault of my father
over the w^ater;" and at the peace in the following
May, they gave up all their lands as far as the
top of the Oconee mountain.
Nor was the overawing of the wild men the
164
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
only good that came out of this bootless eagerness
of the British minister to crush America by an
1776. jjj(jir^^j^ confederacy: henceforward the settlers of
Tennessee with oneness of heart upheld American
independence ; and putting all their feelings and
all their mind into one word, they named their
district Washington.
CHAPTER X.
WHITE PLAINS.
October 1—28, 1776.
For nearly four weeks Washington and the chap.
main body of his army remained on the heights ^ — ^^^
of Harlem. The uneven upland, little more than a Q^,^,
half-mile wide, and except at a few points less than
two hundred feet above the sea, falls away pre-
cipitously towards the Hudson ; along the Harlem
river, it is bounded for more than two miles by
walls of primitive rock or declivities steep as an
escarpment. Towards Manhattan ville, it ended in
pathless crags. There existed no highway from
the south, except the narrow one which, near the
One hundred and forty-fourth street, yet winds up
Breakneck hill. The approach from that quarter
was guarded by three parallel lines, of which the
first and weakest ran from about the One hundred
and forty-eighth street on the east to the One
hundred and fortv-fifth on the west ; the second
was in the rear, at the distance of two fifths of
166
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
a mile ; the third, one quarter of a mile still fur-
ther to the north; so that they could be pro-
tected, one from another, by musketry as well as
cannon. A little further than the third parallel
the house which Washington occupied stood on
high ground overlooking the plains, the hills above
Macgowan's pass, the distant city, the bay, and its
islands.
North of head-quarters, the land undulates for
yet a mile, to where Mount Washington, its high-
est peak, rises two hundred and thirty-eight feet
over the Hudson. The steep summit was crowned
by a five-sided earthwork, mounting thirty-four
cannon, but without casemates, or strong outposts.
Just beyond Fort Washington the heights cleave
asunder, and the road to Albany, by an easy de-
scent, passes for about a mile through the rocky
gorge. Laurel hill, the highest cliff on the Har-
lem side, was occupied by a redoubt; the opposite
hill, near the Hudson, known afterwards as Fort
Tryon, was still more difficult of access. Thence
both ridges fall abruptly to a valley which crosses
the island from Tubby -hook. Beyond this pass,
the land to Kingsbridge on the right is a plain
and marsh ; on the left, a new but less lofty spur
springs up, and runs to Spyt den Duyvel creek,
by which the Harlem joins the Hudson. This
part of New York island was defended by Fort
Independence, on the high ridge north of Spyt
den Duyvel ; a series of redoubts guarded Ford-
ham heights, on the east bank of the Harlem ;
an earthwork was laid out above Williams' bridge ;
and on the third of October a guard of riflemen
WHITE PLAINS. 167
had their alarm-post at the pass from Throg's neck. chap.
Greene, who was fast gaining a name among the
statesmen of New York as "beyond a doubt a
first-rate military genius," and " in whose opinion
Washington placed the utmost confidence," com-
manded a body in Jersey, at Fort Lee, on the
summit of the palisades, where they were seventy-
three feet higher than Fort Washington. The
obstructing of the' Hudson between Fort Lee and
Fort Washington was intrusted to Putnam, who
promised perfect success through an invention of
his own.
If Howe could force the Hudson and get to the
north of New York island, the American army
would be caged, and compelled to surrender or
fight under the greatest disadvantage. Against
this danger Washington was on his guard ; but
with the Hudson obstructed, w^ith Greene above
the palisades of Jersey, with Lee, who was looked
for every day, in command on Fordham heights,
he would have awaited an attack from the south,
for an assault from that quarter would not have
menaced his communications. " If the enemy should
not change their plan of operations," so he wrote
to a friend, "and if the men will stand by me,
which I despair of, I am resolved not to be forced
from this ground while I have life."
During this suspense, many of the states were
moulding the forms of their new governments, so
as to fix in livinsc institutions the thouf^hts of
the American people on the freedom of conscience,
the independence of religion, the legal equality of
opinions, the safest guardianship of the principles
108 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, of social order. How would the human race have
suffered, had their experiments been suppressed !
The army sighed for the coming of Lee, not
knowing that he had advised to give up the forts
in Charleston harbor without firing a gun. He
loomed as the evil genius of Clinton, whom he
seemed to have faced at New York, in Virginia,
and in North Carolina, and, with vastly inferior
numbers, to have driven with shame from South
Carolina. A New York officer wrote : " He is
hourly expected, as if from heaven with a legion
of flaming swordsmen." " His arrival," said Tilgh-
man, the most faithful member of Washington's
staff, "will greatly relieve our worthy general, who
has too much for any mortal upon his hands."
" Pray hasten his departure ; he is much wanted,"
was the message of Jay to a friend in Philadel-
phia. Yet Lee, with all his ill-concealed aspira-
tions, had not one talent of a commander. He
never could see anything in its whole, or devise
a comprehensive plan of action, but, by the habit
of his mind, would fasten upon some detail, and
always find fault. Moreover, he was proud of
being an Englishman, and affected, by the right
of birth, to look down upon his present associates,
whom he thought to be " very bad company ; "
for he had the national pride of his countrymen,
though not their loyalty; the disdain of other
nations, without devotedness to his own. His
alienation from Britain grew out of petulance at
being neglected ; and had a chance of favor been
thrown to him, no one would have snapped more
swiftly at the bait. He esteemed the people into
WHITE PLAINS. 169
whose service he had entered as unworthy^ of chap.
a place among the nations ; their declaration of
independence jarred on his feelings ; and if, by fits,
he played the part of a zealot in their cause, his
mind, after every swing, came back to his first
idea, that they had only to consider how they
could, "with safety, glory, and advantage, return to
their former state of relation."^ He used after-
wards to say, that " things never would have gone
so far, had his advice been taken;" and he recon-
ciled himself to the declaration of independence by
the Americans, only that they might have some-
thing " to cede " as the price of " accommodation." ^
On the seventh of October, Lee appeared before
the continental congress in Philadelphia, and ob-
tained the coveted grant of thirty thousand dol-
lars as an indemnity against apprehended losses in
England. Aware of his designation to the chief
command in case of a vacancy, he looked upon
himself as already the head of a party, fretted
more than ever at his subordinate position, and
wearied congress with clamor for a separate army
on the Delaware ; but they proved deaf to his
cries, and sent him to the camp of Washington,
w^hile he in return secretly mocked at them as " a
stable of cattle that stumbled at every step."
* C. Lee to B. "Rush, Dec. 4, 1 775, feelinors ; but at lenjxth I considered
in my MS. collections, printed in that unless America detlared her-
Moore's Lee, 99. self independent, she had nothing
2 C. Lee to Robert Morris, Jan. to cede which would not go to
23, 17 76, printed in Reed's Reed, her vitals on accommodation; these
i. 155, 156, note. were my principles, and on these
3 " When the idea of a declara- principles I conducted myself." C.
tion of independence was first start- Lee to Robert Morris. MS. letter
ed, I confess I had my doubts and of which I have an authentic copy.
VOL. IX. 15
170 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
Lee had left at Annapolis a rumor of his having
"advised that now was the time to make up with
Great Britain," and of having promised for that
end to " use his influence with congress ; " ^ the con-
vention of Maryland chimed in with his timidity,
and, notwithstanding the declaration of indepen-
dence, were still ready to come to terms, as they
expressly voted in November.
On that question Pennsylvania was divided. At
the same time its convention, composed of new
men, and guided mainly by a schoolmaster, the
honest but inexperienced James Cannon, formed
a constitution, under the complex influence of
abstract truths and an angry quarrel with the
supporters of the old charter of the colony. It
extended the elective franchise to every resident
tax-payer; while, with the approbation of Franklin,
it concentrated legislative power in a single assem-
bly. Moreover, that assembly, in joint ballot with
a council whose members were too few to be of
much weight in a decision by numbers, was to
select the president and vice-president. The presi-
dent, who stood in the place of chief magistrate,
had no higher functions than those of the presi-
dent of a council-board. This constitution, which
was a mortal ofience to the old proprietary party
and a stumbling-block to the men of wealth, and
which satisfied neither the feelings nor the intu-
itions nor the reflective judgment of a numerical
1 Deposition of D. Evans, in Force, I have passed thronjili ; " and by the
ii. 1006; confirmed by Lee in his vote of the convention of Maryland
letter to contrress of Oct. 10, 1776, of Nov. 10.
in Force, ii. 972: "other provinces
4
WHITE PLAINS. 171
majority in the state, was put in action without chap.
being previously submitted to the citizens for rati- — ^^^^
fi cation ; and it provided no mode for its amend- ^^q^^'
nient but through the vote of two thirds of all
persons elected to a board of censors, which w^as
to be chosen for one year only in seven. It could
have no place in the heart of the people, and was
acceptable only as the badge of a revolution ; yet
from every elector, before his vote could be re-
ceived, an oath or affirmation was required that
he would neither directly nor indirectly do any-
thing injurious to it as established by the con-
vention. This requirement, which disfranchised a
large part of the inhabitants, especially of the
Quakers, w^as loudly execrated, and rent the state
into embittered domestic factions. To the proprie-
tary party, which had retained a majority in the
regular colonial assembly, the new government was
hateful as a usurpation ; and to Robert Morris,
Cadwalader, Rush, Wayne, and many others of
"the best of the whigs," the uncontrolled will of a
single legislative assembly, which might be biased
by the delusions of selfishness or moved by fickle
moods of passion, appeared as a form of tyranny;
while the w^ant of executive energy took away all
hope of employing the resources of the state with
earnestness and unanimity. In the very presence
of the continental congress, the spirit of a counter-
revolution lurked among the inhabitants of Phila-
delphia ; their lukewarm officers in the army threw
up their commissions : William Allen, from disgust
at the new system ; Shee, the good disciplinarian,
from an avowed want of fortitude ; Reed, the
4
172 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, adjutant-general, knowing full well "the most ru-
inous consequences" of resignations, and conceal-
ing his own from Washington. The yearning for
peace, and a dread of loss by the depreciating
paper currency, wrecked the small remains of cour-
age of John Dickinson;^ a majority would have
eagerly rushed into a negotiation with the Howes,
had their powers been less confined ; and there
existed " a considerable party for absolute and
unconditional submission," which derived aid from
the scruples of the Quakers to bear arms, or to
promise allegiance to the new constitution.
Aware of the wavering in Pennsylvania, Lee, on
his way through New Jersey, found much that
was congenial with his own inclination " to con-
demn the Americans for continuing the contest."
The constitution of that state w^as self-annulled,
"if a reconciliation between Great Britain and the
colonies should take place ; " the president of the
body which framed it opposed independence to
the last, and still leaned to a reunion with Brit-
ain; the highest officers in the public service were
taken from those who had stood against the dis-
ruption; the assembly had adjourned on the eighth
" through mere want of members to do business," ^
leaving unfinished almost everything which they
should have done ; the open country could not
hope for success in resisting an invading army;
" the tories, taking new life, in one of the largest
counties were circulating papers for subscription,"
1 MS. letters, of which I have 2 J. D. Sergeant to S. Adams,
copies; as well as the documents in Oct. 9, 1776. MS. letter.
Force, iii. 1255, 1294, 1370.
WHITE PLAINS. 173
complaining of the declaration of independence, chap.
because it was a bar to a treaty. With the alleged
concurrence of "the most active friends to the
cause in New Jersey, and the other provinces he
had passed through," Lee, from Princeton, seized
this opportunity to propose that congress should
authorize an offer to open a negotiation with Lord
Howe on his own terms.
The proposal was unheeded. Washington at this
time, " bereft of every peaceful moment, losing all
comfort and happiness," and least of all thinking
that any one could covet his office, was watching
the effects of the wilfulness of congress in delay-
ing to raise an army, seeing on the one side the
impossibility of doing any essential service to the
cause by continuing in command, and on the
other the inevitable ruin that would follow his
retirement. " Such is my situation," said he, pri-
vately, " that if I were to wish the bitterest curse
to an enemy on this side of the grave, I should
put him in my stead with my feelings." Again
he addressed congress : " Give me leave to say,
your affairs are in a more unpromising way than
you seem to apprehend; your army is on the eve
of its dissolution. True it is, you have voted a
larger one in lieu of it ; but the season is late,
and there is a material difference between voting
battalions and raising men." But with this warn-
ing in their hands, they were still confident of a
respite from danger for the winter. " The British
force is so divided, they will do no great matter
more this fall," said John Adams, the chairman of
the board of war; and though officially informed
15*
174 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
(T^AP. that the American army would disband, that all
the measures thus far adopted for raising a new
one were but fruitless experiments, he asked and
obtained leave of absence at the time when there
was the most need of his energy to devise relief
On the morning of the eleventh, previous to his
departure, news came, that, two days before, two
British ships of forty-four guns each, with three
or four tenders, under an easy southerly breeze,
ran through the impediments in the Hudson with-
out the least difficulty, and captured or destroyed
the four American row-galleys in the river. Con-
gress would not conceive the necessity of further
retreat ; referring the letter to the board of war,
they instantly " desired Washington, if practicable,
by every art and at whatever expense, to obstruct
effectually the navigation between the forts, as
well to prevent the regress of the enemies' frig-
ates lately gone up, as to hinder them from
receiving succors." Greene shared this rash con-
fidence. After the British ships of war had passed
up the river, he said : " Our army are so strongly
fortified, and so much out of the command - of the
shipping, we have little more to fear this cam-
paign." Congress was confirmed in its delusion by
Lee, who, on the twelfth, wrote confidently from
Amboy that Howe would not attack Washington's
lines, but would "infallibly" proceed against Phila-
delphia ; and he urged that Washington " should
spare a part of his army to be stationed about
Trenton."
While Lee was writing this opinion, Howe, leav-
ing his finished lines above Macgowan's pass toj
WHITE PLAINS. 175
the care of three brigades under Percy, embarked chap.
the yan of his army on the East river, and landed
at Throg's neck. Washington, who had foreseen
this attempt to gain his rear, seasonably occupied
tlie causeway and bridge which led from Throg's
neck, by Hand's riflemen, a New York regiment, the
regiment of Prescott of Pepperell, and an artillery
company ; posted guards on all the defensible
grounds between the two armies ; began the evacu-
ation of New York island by sending Macdougall's
brigade before nightfall^ four miles beyond Kings-
bridge; and detached a corps to White Plains, to
which place he ordered his stores in Connecticut
to be transferred.^ On the thirteenth, a council of
war was called, but was adjourned, that Greene
and Mercer might receive a summons and Lee be ^^
present. On the fourteenth, in obedience to the 4
indiscreet order of congress, Putnam was charged
"to attend particularly to the works about Mount
Washington, and to increase the obstructions in
the river as fast as possible ; " while Lee, still in
1 The oriprin of the retirement the British landed, Force, ii. 1014;
of the American army from New confirmed by Heath in his journal
York has been most industriously for the same day, Heath, 76 ; by
misrepresented. " The movement Col. Ewinjj to Maryland Council of
orifrinated with General Lee," writes Safety, Oct. 13, 17 76, m F"orce, ii.
Stedman, Hist, of the War, i. 211, 1025- bv J. Reed to his wife, Oct.
and he is substantially followed by 13, 1776, in Reed's Reed, i. 244:
Reed's Reed, i. 251. So far is this " The principal part of this army is
from the truth, the movement was moved off this island." These let-
ordered before the idea had entered ters were all written before Lee ar-
the mind of Lee, as appears from rived, and before he knew anything
his letters of Oct. 12 and Oct. 14, about the movement,
and was more than half executed a 2 Xhe witnesses to this are Wash-
day or two before his arrival. For ington himself, in a letter to Col.
evidence of the l;)eginning of the J. Trumbull, Oct. 20, in Force, ii.
movement, see Small wood, Oct. 12, 1138; and Howe to Germain, in
1776, where he acknowledges the Almon, xi. 355.
receipt of his orders on the very day
m
176 * AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. New Jersey, blamed Washington for not menacing
V — Y — ' to resign. Later in the day Lee crossed the river,
*Oct^* and found New York island already more than
half evacuated. Riding in pursuit of Washington,
who was directing in person the defence along
East and West Chester, he was received with con-
fidence, and assigned to the division beyond Kings-
bridge, with the request that he would exercise
no command till he could make himself acquainted
with the arrangements of his post.
In the following night, Mercer, at first accom-
panied by Greene, made a descent upon Staten
Island, and at daybreak on the fifteenth he took
seventeen prisoners at Richmond. The intended
descent upon eastern Long Island was postponed.
To the council of war which assembled on the
sixteenth Washington read accounts of a conspir-
acy of the numerous disaffected in Westchester
and Duchess counties, and produced ample evi-
dence of the intention of the enemy to surround
his army ; in reply to his question, all, except
George Clinton, agreed that a change of position
was necessary "to prevent the enemy cutting off
the communication with the country." Lee, who
came to the camp to persuade Washington that
he was in no danger whatever of an attack, joined
in the well-considered decision which the best of
the generals had brought with them to the coun-
cil, and distinguished himself by his vehement sup-
port of his newly adopted opinion.^ The council
1 That his opinion was n«w ap- Greene figure largely ; but Greene
pears from his own letters. Gordon, was not present at it, as the record
in his account of the council, makes shows. Force, ii. 1117.
WHITE PLAINS. 177
also agreed, with apparent unanimity, that "Fort ('Hap.
Washington be retained as long as possible."
After five days, which Howe passed on Throg's
neck in bringing up more brigades and collecting
stores, he gave up the hope of getting directly in
Washington's rear, and resolved to strike at White
Plains. On the eighteenth, the British, crossing in
boats to Pell's neck, landed just below East Ches-
ter, at the mouth of Hutchinson river. Glover,
with one brigade, engaged their advanced party in
a short but sharp action, which was commended in
general orders, and honored at Ticonderoga " with
three cheers" from the northern army. That night
the British lay upon their arms, with their left
upon a creek towards East Chester, and their right
near New Rochelle. In the march to White Plains
the Americans had the advantage of the shortest
distance, the greatest number of efficient troops,
and the strongest ground. The river Bronx, a
small stream of Westchester county, nearly paral-
lel with the Hudson, scarcely thirty miles long,
draining a very narrow valley, and almost every-
where fordable, ran through thick forests along a
succession of steep ridges. The hills to the north
of White Plains continue to the lakes which are
its sources, and join the higher range which bounds
the basin of the Croton river. The Americans
moved upon the west side, pressing the British
towards the sound, taking care not to be out-
flanked, and protecting their march by a series of
intrenched camps. Each party was deficient in the
means of transportation ; but the Americans, who
were in fine spirits, themselves dragged their artil-
178
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, lery, and carried what they could of their baggage
on their backs.
Ever in a state of alarm from the vigilance and
activity of Washington, Howe manifested extreme
caution ; his march was close ; his encampments
compact. He was beset by difficulties in a "coun-
try so covered with forests, swamps, and creeks,
that it was not open in the least degree to be
known but from post to post, or from the accounts
of the inhabitants, who were entirely ignorant of
military description." After halting two days for
two regiments of light dragoons, on the twenty-
first, leaving Von Heister with three brigades to
occupy the former encampment, he advanced with
the right and centre of his army two miles above
New Rochelle. To counteract him, Washington
transferred his head-quarters to Valentine's hill,
and put in motion Heath's division, which marched
in the night to White Plains, and on the following
day occupied the strong grounds north of the vil-
lage, so as to protect the upper road from Con-
necticut. In the same night, Haslet of Delaware
surprised a picket of Rogers's regiment of rangers,
and brought off thirty-six prisoners, a pair of col-
ors, and sixty muskets. A few hours later, Hand,
with two hundred rifles, encountered an equal num-
ber of yagers, and drove them from the field.
Howe felt the need of a greater force. On the
twenty-second, the second division of the Hessians
and the regiment of Waldeckers, who had arrived
from a very long voyage only four days before,
were landed by ^ Knyphausen at New Rochelle,
where they remained to protect the communica-
WHITE PLAINS. 179
tions with New York. Thls% released the three chap.
X.
bri^iides with Von Heister; but before they could
move, Washington, on the morning of the twenty-
third, installed his head-quarters at White Plains,
and thus utterly baffled the plan of getting into
his rear. On the twenty-fifth, Howe's army crossed
the country from New Rochelle to the New York
road, and encamped at Scarsdale with the Bronx
in front, the right of his army being about four
miles from White Plains. Wliile he was waiting
to be joined by Von Heister's division, Lee and
the rear of the American army reached Wash-
ington's camp, without loss, except of sixty or
seventy barrels of provisions. Here the querulous
general promptly indulged his habit of finding
fault, selecting for blame the place of the encamp-
ment ; but though there was stronger ground in
the rear, there was none so well suited to defend
the stores; besides, it was Washington's object, not
to escape from Howe, but to draw him on and
waste his time.
The twenty-seventh was marked by a combined 27.
movement against Fort Washington by the British
who had been left at New York. A ship of war
came up to cut off the communication across the
river ; while the troops under Percy, from Harlem
plain, made a disposition for an attack; but Greene
animated the defence by his presence ; Magaw
promptly manned his lines on the south ; the
vessel of war suffered so severely from two
eighteen -pounders on the Jersey shore and one
on the New York side, that she slipped her
cable, left her anchor, and escaped by the aid
180 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
i
CHAP, of the tide and f<iur tow-boats. Elated at the
result, Greene sent to congress by express a glow-
ing account of the day; "The troops," he said,
"were in high spirits, and in every engagement,
since the retreat from . New York, had given the '.
enemy a drubbing." Lasher, on the next day,
obeyed orders sent from Washington's camp to
quit Fort Independence, which was insulated and
must have fallen before any considerable attack ;
but Greene, under the illusions of inexperience,
complained of the evacuation as premature, and
likely to damp the spirits of his troops, and wrote
murmuringly to Washington, that the "fort might
have kept the enemy at bay for several days."
28. On the bright autumnal morning of the twenty-
eighth, the army of Howe, expecting a battle which
was to be the crisis of the war, advanced in two
divisions, its right under Clinton, its left under
Von Heister. At Hart's corner they drove back a
large party of Americans under Spencer. As their
several columns came within three quarters of a
mile of White Plains, Washington's army was seen
in order of battle, superior in numbers, and full of
confidence, awaiting an attack on hilly ground of
his own choice, defended by an abatis and two
nearly parallel lines of intrenchments, his right
flank and rear protected by a bend in the Bronx,
his left resting on very broken ground too difficult
to be assailed.
Howe was blamed for not having immediately
stormed the American centre, which was the only
vulnerable point. Washington had no misgivings,
for his army, numbering rather more than thirteen
WHITE PLAINS. 181
thousand men against thirteen thousand, was in chap.
good spirits, confident in itself and in him. Howe
considered that the chances of a repulse might
be asrainst him ; that should he carry one line^
there would remain another ; that if he scaled
both, " the rebel army could not be destroyed,"
because the ground in their rear was such as they
could wish for securing a retreat, so that the haz-
ard of an attack exceeded any advantage he could
gain. But he had come so far, he was forced to
do something. A corps of Americans, about four-
teen hundred strong, under the command of
Macdougall, occupied Chatterton hill, west of the
Bronx and less than a mile w^est-southwest of
Washington's camp, and thus covered the road
from Tarrytown to White Plains. Howe directed
eight regiments, about fpur thousand men, to carry
this position, while the rest of his army, with
their left to the Bronx, seated themselves on the
ground as lookers-on.
First, a heavy but ineffective cannonade by the
British across the Bronx was feebly returned by
the three field-pieces of the Americans on the
hill. The Hessian regiment Lossberg, supported by
Leslie with the second English brigade and Donop
with the Hessian grenadiers, forded the Bronx,
and marched under cover of the hill, until by
facing to the left their column became a line, par-
allel with that of the Americans, which w\as com-
posed of the remains of the regiments of Brooks
of Massachusetts, Haslet of Delaware, Webb of
Connecticut, Smallwood of Maryland, and one of
New York. The cannonade ceased ; and the Brit-
VOL. IX 16
182
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
OBAV. ish troops struggled through a deadly shower of
bullets to climb the rocky hill -side. For fifteen
minutes they met with a most detennined resist-
ance, especially from the men of Maryland and
Delaware. In the American camp it seemed that
the British were worsted ; but just then, Rail,
who, acting from his own observation and judg-
ment, had brought up two regiments by a more^
southerly and easier route, ordered his bugles to
sound, and decided the day by suddenly charging
the Americans on their flank. Macdougall, attacked
in flank and front b}^ thrice his own numbers, still
preserved his communications, and conducted his
party over the Bronx by the road and bridge
to Washington's camp. Of stragglers only about
eighty were taken. The loss of the Americans in
killed and wounded was less than a hundred, while
that of the English and Hessians was at least two
hundred and twenty-nine.
CHAPTEK XL
FORT WASHINGTON.
October 29 — November 16, 1776.
The occupation of Chatterton hill enfeebled chap.
Howe by dividing his forces ; and he waited two v^^^^
days for four fresh battalions from New York and ^JJ^'
two from New Rochelle. Washington employed
the respite in removing his sick and his stores,
strengthening his position, and throwing up strong
works on higher grounds in his rear.
A drenching rain in the morning of the thirty-
first was Howe's excuse for postponing the attack
one day more ; in the following night, Washing-
ton, perceiving that Howe had finished batteries
and received reenforcements, drew back his army
to high ground above White Plains. There, at
the distance of long cannon-shot, he was unap-
proachable in front; and he held the passes in his
rear. His superiority as a general was manifest;
but under the system of short enlistments his
strength was wasting away. The militia w^ould
184 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, soon have a right to go home, and did not always
wait for their discharge. To the several states
was reserved the sole right to issue commissions;
if this had been seasonably done, troops whose
time was nearly at an end might have engaged
again ; " it was essential to keep up some shadow
of an army," and for all that "not a single officer
was yet commissioned to recruit."
Thus far Howe had but a poor tale to tell ; he
must do more, if he would not go in shame into
winter- quarters. Putnam, whose division had been
the last to leave New York island, had an over-
weening confidence in the impregnability of Fort
Washington, which he had raised ; on his parting
request, Greene, w^hose command now extended to
that fort, had not scrupled to increase its garrison
by sending over between two and three hundred
men. The regiments which Washington had as-
signed to its defence were chiefly Pennsylvanians
under the command of Colonel Magaw, who,* from
love of country, had passed from the bar of Phil-
adelphia to service in the army.
On the last day of October, Greene, who was as
blindly confident as Putnam, wrote to Washington
for instructions ; but without waiting for them, he
again reenforced Magaw with the rifle regiment
Nov. of Rawlings. On the second of November, Knyp-
^* hausen left New Rochelle, and with his brigade
took possession of the upper part of New York
5. island. On the fifth, Howe suddenly broke up his
encampment in front of Washington's lines, and
moved to Dobbs' ferry ; the American council of
6. war which was called on the sixth at White Plains
FORT WASHINGTON. 185
agreed unanimously to throw troops into the Jer- chap.
seys, but made no change in its former decision
" to retain Fort Washington as long as possible.'
That decision rested on an order from congress ;
to that body, therefore, Washington, on the day of
the council, explained the approaching dissolution of
his own army, and " that the enemy would bend
their force against Fort Washington, and invest
it immediately." But congress left their former
orders unchanged. "The gentry at Philadelphia
loved fighting, and, in their passion for brilliant
actions with raw troops, wished to see matters put
to the hazard."^ Greene was possessed with the
same infatuation ; when, on the sixth, three vessels
passed the obstructions in the Hudson, he wrote
to Washington, "that they were prodigiously shat-
tered from the fire of his cannon ; " and at the
same time, reporting that Rail had advanced with
his column to Tubby-hook, he added : " They will
not be able to penetrate any further."
Washington saw more clearly. Cares of every
sort overwhelmed him, but could not daunt his
fortitude, nor impair his judgment. His first object
was to save the garrison at Fort Washington, and
the stores at Fort Lee; and on the eighth he
gave to Greene his final instructions, overruling
the order of congress with modesty yet w^ith clear-
ness : " The passage of the three vessels up the
North river is so plain a proof of the inefficacy of
all the obstructions thrown into it, that it will
fully justify a change in the disposition. If we
cannot prevent vessels from passing up, and the
1 Mifflin to R. Morris, 21 Nov 1776. MS
16*
186 AMERICAN INDErENDENCE.
CHAP, enemy are possessed of the surrounding country,
what valuable purpose can it answer to attempt to
hold a post, from which the expected benefit can-
not be had ? I am, therefore, inclined to think
that it will not be prudent to hazard the men and
stores at Mount Washington ; but, as you are on
the spot, I leave it to you to give such orders,
as to evacuating Mount Washington, as you may
judge best, and so ftir revoking the order given
to Colonel Magaw to defend it to the last. So far
as can be collected from the various sources of
intelligence, the enemy must design a penetration
into Jersey, and to fall down upon your post.
You will, therefore, immediately have all the stores
removed, which you do not deem necessary for
your defence."
Having thus disposed of the question of Fort
Washington by revoking the order to defend it to
the last, and providing, as he believed, for its
evacuation, and having ordered "immediate" prepa-
rations for evacuating Fort Lee, he turned his
9. mind to other duties. On the ninth, he began
sending with Putnam to the Jerseys five thousand
troops, of which he was himself to take the com-
10. mand. On the tenth, Lee, who, with about seven
thousand five hundred continental troops and mili-
tia, was to remain behind till all doubt respecting
Howe's movements should be over, was warned,
in written orders, to guard against surprises, and
to transport all his baggage and stores to the
northward of Croton river, with this final instruc-
tion : " If the enemy should remove the greater
part of their force to the west side of Hudson's
FORT WASHINGTON. 187
river, I have no doubt of your following, with chap.
all possible despatch." Then, having finished his
work with a forecast that neglected nothing, Wash-
incrton rode from Wliite Plains an hour before
noon, and reached Peekskill at sunset.
On the morning of the eleventh, attended by ii.
Heath, Stirling, the two CHntons, Mifflin, and
others, he went in boats up the magnificent defile
of the Highlands, past Forts Independence find
Clinton and the unfinished Fort Montgomery, as
far as the island on which Fort Constitution com-
manded the sudden bend in the river. A glance
of the eye revealed the importance of the opposite
west point, which it was now determined to fortify
according to the wish of the New York provincial
convention. Very early on the twelfth, Washington 12.
rode with Heath to reconnoitre the gorge of the
Highlands ; then giving him, under written instruc-
tions, the command of the posts on both sides of
the river, wath three thousand troops of Massachu-
setts, Connecticut, and New York to secure them,
he crossed at ten o'clock, and rode through Smith's
" clove " to Hackensack. His arrangements, as the
events proved, were the very best that his circum-
stances permitted, and he might reasonably hope
to check the progress of Howe in New Jersey at
the river. But unhappily he was not seconded by
his generals, who, from the character of the army,
and tlie uncertain extent of the power of the com-
mander-in-chief, acted as if they were his peers.
No sooner did Lee find himself in a separate
command than he resolved neither to join nor to
reenforce his superior; and Greene framed his
188 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, measures on a system directly contrary to Wash-
' — Y — ' ington's manifested intentions. He fell to ques-
j^^^' tioning the propriety of the directions which he
9-13. received; insisted that Fort Washington should be
kept, even with the certainty of its investment ;
gave assurance that the garrison w^is in no great
conceivable danger, and could easily be brought
off at any time ; and cited Magaw's opinion that
the fort could stand a siege till December. In-
stead, therefore, of evacuating it, he took upon
himself to send over reenforcements, chiefly of
Pennsylvanians ; left unrevoked the order to defend
it to the last extremity ; and, in a direct report to
congress, encouraged that body to believe that the
attempt of Howe to possess himself of it would
fail.
18. Before the end of the thirteenth, Washington
arrived at Fort Lee, and, to his great grief, found
what Greene had done. "The importance of the
Hudson river, and the sanguine wishes of all
to prevent the enemy from possessing it," had
induced congress to intervene by a special order,
which left Washington no authority to evacuate
Fort Washington, except in a case of necessity;
his full council of war had approved the action of
congress; Greene, his best and most trusted officer,
and the commander of the post, insisted that the
evacuation was not only uncalled for, but would
be attended by disastrous consequences; and, under
this advice, Washington hesitated, by an absolute
order, to conflict with congress, whose judgment
he might strive to enlighten, whose command he
was bound to obey. His next hours at Hacken-
FORT WASHINGTON. 189
sack were crowded with duties; besides ordinary chap.
matters of detail, he had to prepare from dissolv- ^ — y^-^
ing regiments the means of protecting New Jersey, ^^^ '
and to advise congress of the pressing wants of i4.
the army.
On the night following the fourteenth, the vigi- 15.
lance of Greene so far slumbered, that thirty Hat-
boats of the British passed his post undiscovered,
and hid themselves in Spyt den Duyvel creek.
Havino- finished batteries on Fordham heicrhts,
Howe, in the afternoon of the fifteenth, summoned
Magaw to surrender Fort Washington, on pain of
the garrison's being put to the sword. The gallant
officer, remonstrating against this inhuman menace,
made answer, that he should defend his post to
the last extremity, and sent a copy of his reply
to Greene, who, about sunset, forwarded it to
Washington, and himself soon after repaired to the
island. On receivintr the messao^e, Washino-ton
rode to Fort Lee, and was crossing the river in
a row-boat late at night, when he met Putnam
and Greene, and spoke wdth them in the stream.
Greene, who was persuaded that he had sent
over " men enough to defend themselves against
the whole British army," reported that the troops
were in high spirits, and would do well. On
this report Washington turned back with them
to Fort Lee, for it was then too late to withdraw
the garrison.
The grounds which Magaw was charged to de- 16.
fend reached from the hills above Tubby-hook to
a zigzag line a little south of the present Trinity
cemetery, a distance north and south of two and a
190 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, half miles, a circuit of six or seven. The defence
' — V — ' of the northernmost pomt of the heights was com-
^^^' mitted to Rawlings and a Maryland ritie regiment,
16. in which Otho Holland Williams was the second in
command ; Magaw retained at Fort Washington a
small reserve ; the lines at the south were intrust-
ed to Pennsylvanians under Lambert Cadwalader
of Philadelphia, who had no heart for the day's
work, and justly enough thought and too openly
avowed that a successful defence was impossible ;
on the Harlem side, Baxter, with one regiment,
occupied the redoubt on Laurel hill ; the interval
of two miles between him and Cadwalader w^as
left to casual supplies of troops.
A cannonade from the heights of Fordham was
kept up on the sixteenth till about noon. Of four
separate attacks, the most difficult and the most
dangerous was made by Knyphausen with nearly
four thousand five hundred men. The brigade on
the right nearest the Hudson was led by Rail ;
the other, with Knyphausen, marched nearer the
road towards the gorge, officers, like the men, on
foot. The high and steep and thickly wooded
land w\as defended by felled trees and three or
four cannon. The assailants must climb over
rocks ; they drew themselves up by grasping at
trees and bushes; some slipped on the dry autumn
leaves and fell ; others dropped before the rifle.
Excited by the obstinacy of the contest. Rail cried
out : " Forwards, my grenadiers, every man of
you;" his drums beat; his trumpeters blew the
notes of command ; and all who escaped the fire
from behind rocks and trees shouted " Hurrah ! "
FORT WASHINGTON. 191
and pushed forward without firing, till Hessians chap.
and Americans were mixed up together. The ^ — v^
other German column was embarrassed by still ^17^'
JNov
closer thickets and a steeper hill-side ; but Knyp- i6
hausen, tearing down fences with his own hand,
and exposing himself like the common soldier, was
but little behind Rail.
For the second attack a brigade under Lord
Cornwallis embarked in flat- bottomed boats at
Kingsbridge on the stream which is there very
narrow; the fire of musketry on the tAvo foremost
battalions was so heavy that the sailors slunk
down in the boats, leaving it to the soldiers to
handle the oars. When they had all landed, they
climbed " the very steep, uneven " Laurel hill from
the north, and by their activity and numbers
stormed the American battery. Baxter fell while
encouraging his men.
To the south, the division under Percy moved
from w^hat is now the One hundred and twenty-
fifth street. An advance picket of twenty men in
a small redoubt was quickly dislodged by a brisk
fire ; but after gaining the heights, Pqrcy sheltered
his greatly superior force behind a piece of woods,
and remained idle for an hour and a half, while
he sent word to Howe that he had carried an
advanced work. To facilitate his success, Howe
ordered three regiments to land in the rear of
Cadwalader's lines. As they were seen coming
down Harlem river, Magaw sent from Fort Wash-
ington, and Cadwalader from his lines, each about
one hundred and fifty men to oppose them. Of •
this fourth attack, Colonel Sterling and the High-
192 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, landers led the way in boats through a galling fire;
they landed under cover of a heavy cannonade
from Fordham heights, struggled up the steep path
with a loss of ninety killed or wounded, and
pressed forward across the island. To prevent
being caught between two detachments, Cadwal-
ader ordered his party to retreat; which they did,
but in such confusion that they lost more than a
hundred and fifty prisoners to Sterling, and the
rest, instead of rallying on the grounds outside of
the fort, huddled together within its narrow en-
closure.
While this was going on, the Hessians at the
north, clambering over felled trees and surmount-
ing rocky heights, gained on the Americans, who
in number were but as one to four or five.
Rawlings and Otho Williams were wounded ; the
arms of the riflemen grew foul from use ; as they
retired. Rail with his brigade pushed upward and
onward, and when within a hundred paces of the
fort, instantly sent a captain of grenadiers with
summons to the garrison to surrender as prisoners
of war, all retaining their baggage, and the officers
their swords. Cadwalader received and favored the
message ; Magaw, to whom it was referred, asked
five hours for consultation, but obtained only a
half-hour. It was late in the afternoon ; during
the truce, a messenger from Washington, who was
looking on from Fort Lee, brought a letter to
Magaw, promising that if he would hold out for
a few hours an effort should be made during the
night to bring off the garrison. But the treaty
had gone too far ; nor could the place have re-
FORT WASHINGTON. 193
sisted an assault; to Knyphausen, who had come chap.
up, Magaw surrendered. The honors of the day
belonged to the Hessians and the Highlanders ;
Kail and Sterling were distinguished in general
orders; and the fort was named Knyphausen.
The killed and w^ounded of the German 'troops
were more than three hundred and fifty, those of
the whole royal army more than five hundred.
The Americans lost in the field not above one
hundred and forty-nine ; but they gave up valuable
artillery and some of their best arms, and the
captives exceeded two thousand six hundred, of
whom one half were well-trained soldiers. Greene
w^ould never assume his share of responsibility for
the disaster, and would never confess his o^larinor
errors of judgment ; but wrongfully ascribed the de-
feat to a panic w^hich had struck the men, so that
" they fell a prey to their own fears." The grief
of Washington was sharpened by self-reproach for
having yielded his own opinion and wish to the
confident reports of the commander of the post,
who had incomparably better opportunities than
himself of forming a just judgment; but he took
the teachings of adversity without imbibing its
bitterness ; he never excused himself before the
world by throwing the blame on another ; he
never suffered his opinion of Greene to be con-
fused; and he interpreted his orders to that officer
as having given the largest discretion which their
language could be strained to warrant.
VOL. IX. 17
CHAPTER XII.
WASHINGTON'S RETREAT THROUGH THE JERSEYS.
November 17 — December 13, 1776.
CHAP. Earl Cornwallis, who on the third day of Feb-
* — Y — ' riiary, 1766, had voted with Camden, Shelburne,
j^Qy ' and only two others, that the British parhament
had no right to tax America, obtained the com-
mand in New Jersey. His first object was Fort
Lee, which lay on the narrow ridge between the
Hudson and Hackensack rivers, and which was in
the more danger as Greene, indulging his easy,
sanguine disposition, had neglected Washington's
timel}^ order, to prepare for its evacuation by the
removal of its stores. Drop after drop of sorrow
was fast falling into the cup of Washington. On
17. the seventeenth of November, the division under
the command of Lee had orders^ to join; but
» 1 " They had orders on the 17th Washington's letter -book in the
of November to join, now more than state department, and they ajiree
a month." Washington to Congress, exactly. The order itself, as far as
Dee. 20, in Sparks, iv. 239. I com- 1 can find, has not been preserved,
pared this with the manuscri[)t copy One or two official or semi-official
of the letter and with the copy in letters of the adjutant -general to
WASHINGTON'S RETREAT THROUGH THE JERSEYS.
195
the orders were treated as mere advice, and were chap.
wilfully slighted. The army was meltmg away;
while conirress showed si«rns of nervousness and felt
their want of resources. To obtain troops, they
granted the states liberty to enlist men for the
war, or for three years ; after their own long delay
had destroyed every hope of good results from the
experiment, they forwarded to Washington blank *.
commissions, which he was to fill up, and conjured '
him to recruit the regiments then in camp.
In the night of the nineteenth, two battalions 19.
of Hessian grenadiers, two companies of yagers,
and the eight battalions of the English reserve, at
least five thousand men, marched up the east side
of the Hudson, and the next morning, about day- 20.
break, crossed with their artillery to Closter land-
ing, five miles above Fort Lee. The movement
escaped Greene's attention ; so that the nimble
seamen were unmolested as they dragged the can-
non for near half a mile up the narrow, steep,
rocky road, to the top of the palisades. Aroused
from his bed by the report of a countryman,
Greene sent an express to the commander-in-chief,
and having ordered his troops under arms, took to
flight with more than two thousand men, leaving
blankets and baggage, except what his few wagons
could bear away, more than three months' provi-
sion for three thousand men, camp -kettles on the
fire, above four hundred tents standing, and all
liis cannon, except two tw^elve-pounders. With his
utmost speed he barely escaped being cut off; but
Lee seem to be missinfr ; this order of the communications to Lee in
was iHirhaps one of them. Several December are lost.
196 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
ciiAP. Washington, first ordering Grayson, his aide-de-
camp, to renew the summons for Lee to cross the
river, gained the bridge over the Hackensack by a
rapid march, and covered the retreat of the garri-
son, so that less than ninety stragglers were taken
prisoners. The main body of those who escaped
were without tents, or blankets, or camp utensils,
but such as they could pick up as they went
along. While the Americans were in full retreat,
Reed, the adjutant -general, ordered a horseman
to hasten to Lee with an announcement of the
day's disaster, and as the means of writing gave
out, to add this verbal message : " I pray you to
push and join us ; " and the horseman, without
loss of time, fulfilled his commission.
Once more the army lay on a narrow peninsula,
between the Hackensack and Passaic rivers, which
meet in Newark bay. To avoid being hemmed in,
while waiting for the junction of Lee, Washington
21 gave orders on the twenty-first for moving beyond
the Passaic ; and on the same day, he addressed a
long and most earnest letter to Lee, explaining the
necessity for insisting on his moving over by the
easiest passage. Reed added a letter of his own.
Halting on his march from Hackensack to New-
ark, from the bridge over the Passaic he reminded
the governor of New Jersey that the enlistment
of the flying camp belonging to that state, to
Pennsylvania, and to Maryland, was near expiring,
so that the enemy could be stopped only by the
immediate uprising of the militia. At Newark,
22. where he arrived on the night of the twenty-
second, he maintained himself for five days; con-
WASHINGTON'S RETREAT THROUGH THE JERSEYS. 197
stantly devising means to cover the country, and chap.
hoping to be joined by the continental force un-
der Lee and by volunteers of New Jersey. But
Lee, weakened by the return home of about three
thousand of the Massachusetts militia, remained in
idleness for sixteen days, pretending to defend a
country which there was no enemy near to attack,
indifferent to the "full and explicit" and constant-
ly reiterated orders of Washington.
On the twenty -third, Washington *sent Eeed, 23.
who was a native of New Jersey, to the legisla-
ture of that state then assembled at Burlington,
and Mifflin to the congress at Philadelphia, to
entreat the immediate reenforcement of his dilapi-
dated army. Mifflin fulfilled his mission with pa-
triotism and ability. Congress, in their helplessness,
called on the associators in Philadelphia and the
nearest four counties to join, the army, if but for
six months; begged blankets and woollen stockings
for the bare soldiers; and wrote north and south
for troops and stores. The state of Pennsylvania
was paralyzed by anarchy, continuous revolution,
and disputes about the new constitution, which the
majority disapproved, and of which the complete
establishment was effectually resisted for three
months to come ; but Mifflin successfully addressed
the old committee of safety, and the new assembly;
he reviewed and encouraged the city militia ; with
Rittenhouse in the chair, and the general assembly
and council of safety in attendance, he spoke to the
people in town-meeting with fervor, and was an-
swered by unanimous acclamations. All this while,
the British officers were writing home from New
17*
198 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. York : " Lord Cornwallis is carrying all before him
> — Y — in the Jerseys ; it is impossible but that peace
^^l^' must soon be the consequence of our success." On
28. the twenty-eighth, the advanced guard of Corn-
wallis reached Newark, just as it was left by the
rear of the Americans. On that same day, Eeed,
who had been charged to convey to the New
Jersey government " a perfect idea of the critical
situation of affairs, the movements of the enemy,
and the absolute necessity of further and imme-
diate exertions," shrunk from his duty, and, seeking
definitively to quit the army, sent back his com-
mission to the president of congress. But the pros-
pect of unsparing censure, and a cold rebuke from
Washington, who had seen proof of his disingen-
uousness, drove him, at the end of four days, to
< retract his resignation, though he could not as yet
wholly overcome his reluctance at " following the
wretched remains of a broken army."
At Brunswick, where that army arrived on the
evening of the twenty-eighth, it found short rest.
Lee, though importuned daily, and sometimes twice
a day, still lingered on the east of the Hudson;
Pennsylvania had no government ; the efforts of
congress were as yet ineffective ; and the appeal
of the governor of New Jersey to its several colo-
nels of militia could not bring into the field one full
company. All this while Washington was forced
to hide his weakness, and bear loads of censure
from false estimates of his strength. To expressions
80. of sympathy from William Livingston he answered :
" I will not despair." As he wrote these words, on
the last day of November, he was parting with the
WASHINGTON'S RETREAT THROUGH THE JERSEYS. 199
New Jersey brigade and that of Maryland, which chap.
formed nearly half his force, and claimed their dis- > — y — '
charge, now that their engagement expired; t\hile j^^^ '
the brothers, Ijord and Sir WiUiam Howe, were pnb- 30.
lishing a new proclamation of pardon and amnesty
to all who would within sixty days promise not to
t;\ke up arms in opposition to the king. The men
of New Jersey, instead of turning out to defend
their country, made their submissions as fast as
they could, moved by the wavering of their chief
justice, and the example of Samuel Tucker, who,
though he had been president of the convention
which formed the constitution of the state, chair-
man of its committee of safety, treasurer, and judge
of the supreme court, yet signed the pledge of
fidelity to the British. From Philadelphia, Joseph
Galloway went over to Howe ; so did Andrew Allen,
who had been a member of the continental con-
gress, and two of his brothers ; all confident of being
soon restored to their former fortunes and political
importance. Even John Dickinson, who was free
from malice and struck wounds only into his own
breast, discredited the continental paper, and for
two or three months longer, was so thoroughly
convinced of the necessity of returning to the old
state of dependence, that he refused to accept
from Delaware an appointment to the congress of
the United States.^ The state of Maryland was
willing to renounce the declaration of the fourth
of July, for the sake of an accommodation wnth
Great Britain.
1 Force, lii. 1255, 1294, 1370. Georrre Read, January 20, 1777,
Robert Morris to Jay, January 12, MS., and Same to Same, January
1777, MS. John 'Dickinson to 22, 1777, MS.
200 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. On the other hand, Schuyler, always on the
alert to send help where it was wanted, ordered
from* the northern army seven continental regi-
ments of New England, whose term of service
would expire on the first of January, to march to
the Delaware. Wayne burned to come " to the
assistance of poor Washington," but was kept a
little longer in command at Ticonderoga. In the
darkest hour, Trumbull, of Connecticut, professing a
due dependence on the divine disposer of events,
said, for himself and for the people of his govern-
ment : " We are determined to maintain our cause
to the last extremity."
Pec. Yet the fate of America was trembling in the
scale, when the infatuation of the Howes rashly
divided their forces. Two English and two Hessian
brigades, under the command of Clinton, assisted by
Earl Percy and Prescott, passed through the sound
in seventy transports, and, on the seventh of De-
cember, were convoyed into the harbor of New-
port by Sir Peter Parker, with eleven ships of
war. The island of Khode Island could offer no
resistance ; the American armed vessels that were
in the bay went up to Providence for shelter.
This useless conquest, which kept a large number
of troops unemployed for the next three years,
was made against the advice of Clinton, who wished
rather to have landed at Amboy, or to have ascend-
ed the Delaware with the fleet to Philadelphia.
1. On the first of December, just as Washington
was leaving Brunswick, he renewed his urgency
with Lee : " The enemy are advancing, and mean
to push for Philadelphia ; the force I have with
WASHINGTON'S Rf^TREAT THROUGH THE JERSEYS. 201
me is infinitely inferior in numbers, and such as chap.
cannot promise the least successful opposition. I ^^ — '
must entreat you to hasten your march as much -^^^ *
as possible, or your arrival may be too late." On !•
the evening of that day, Cornwallis entered Bruns-
wick. Washington, as he retreated, broke down a
part of the bridge over the Raritan, and a sharp
cannonade took place across the river, in which it
is remembered that an American battery was
served by Alexander Hamilton. With but three
thousand men, half clad, poorly fed, he marched
by night to Princeton. Leaving Stirling and 2.
twelve hundred men at that place to watch the
motions of the enemy, he went with the rest to
Trenton. His mind derived nourishment from ad-
versity, and grew more strong and serene and pure
through affliction. He found time to counsel con-
gress how to provide resources for the campaign
of the next year ; and as he has himself written,^
he saw " without despondency even for a moment
the hours which America styled her gloomy ones."
Having transferred his baggage and stores beyond
the Delaware, he faced about with such troops as
were fit for service, to resist the further progress
of the enemy, and to await the movements of Lee,
whom he sought, by a special messenger, to ani-
mate to rapid movements. But on the sixth. Corn- 6.
wallis, who was impatient at his orders not to
advance beyond Brunswick, was joined by Howe
and nearly a full brigade of fresh troops. On his
way to Princeton, Washington met the detachment
of Stirling retreating before a vastly superior force;
1 Washington to George Mason, March 27, 1779.
202 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, he therefore returned with his whole army to
^ — r^-' Trenton, and at that place crossed the Delaware.
1 T T fi
Dec' Who can tell what might have happened, if Howe
8- had pushed forward four thousand men, by a forced
march, in pursuit of the Americans ? But, resting
seventeen hours at Princeton, and, on the eightli,
taking seven hours to march twelve miles, he ar-
rived at Trenton just in time to see the last of
the fugitives safely pass the river; and he could
not continue the pursuit for want of means of
9. transportation. The next morning, Cornwallis, who
with the rear division had halted at Maidenhead,
marched thirteen miles up the Delaware, as far as
Coryell's ferry; but Washington had destroyed or
secured every boat on that river and its tributary
streams for a distance of seventy miles.
10. Philadelphia was in danger. On the tenth of
December, congress sent Mifflin through the coun-
ties of Pennsylvania to rouse its freemen to arms ;
it requested of the assembly *that a committee of
their body might accompany him in his tour ; it
directed Putnam to throw up works for the pro-
tection of the city ; it invited the council of safety
to call forth all the inhabitants to take part in
their construction ; and it published an earnest
appeal to the people in general, but especially of
Pennsylvania and the adjacent states, to make at
least a short resistance, for it had already received
aid from foreign states and the most positive assur-
ances of further aid, and General Lee was advan-
cing with a strong reenforcement. On the same
day, Washington, suffering anguish even to tears
at the desolation of New Jersey, again addressed
WASHINGTON'S RETREAT THROUGH THE JERSEYS. 203
Lee : " I request and entreat you, and this too by chap.
the advice of all the general officers with me, to
march and join me with your whole force with
all possible expedition. Do come on ; your arrival,
without delay, may be the means of preserving a
city." Late at night arrived an evasive letter from
Lee ; and Washington appealed to him once more
on the eleventh : " The force I have is weak, and ii
entirely incompetent to prevent General Howe from
possessing Philadelphia ; I must, therefore, entreat
you to push on with every possible succor you
can bring." But this adjuration never reached
him.
The reputation of Lee was at its zenith, when Nov.
he was left in command on the east side of the
Hudson. In congress and among the people, his
name was the mythical symbol of ability, decision,
knowledge of war, and success ; but in truth he was
a man of a treacherous nature, a wayward will,
and an unsoundness of judgment which bordered
on morbidness. He began by ordering from the
military chest a payment which was expressly for-
bidden by law ; so that the paymaster was forced
for self-protection to leave his neighborhood. At the
fall of Fort Washington, his wild ambition blazed
lip without restraint ; disregarding his orders to
move his army, he spread in congress the false
rumor, that his last words to the general had
been : " Draw off the garrison, or they will be
lost ; " and he aspired to a grant of supreme power.
" Your apathy," so he wrote to Rush, " amazes me ;
you make me mad. Let me talk vainly ; had I
the powers, I could do you much good, might I
204 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, but dictate one week. Did none of the congfress
XII.
ever read the Roman history ? " The day after
the loss of Fort Lee he received through Grayson
an exphcit order, and through Reed a peremptory
one, to pass into New Jersey ; determined on diso-
bedience, in a letter to Bowdoin, who was then at
tlie head of the government of Massachusetts, and
who had slowly consented to the necessity of inde-
pendence, he railed about the " cursed job of Fort
Washington," and explained his purpose : " The two
armies, that on the east and that on the west side
of the North river, must rest each on its own botr
tom ; to harbor the thought of reenforcing from
one side to the other is absolute insanity." This
he wrote with the knowledge that five thousand
British troops had landed in New Jersey on the
preceding day, and that there remained no danger
on the east of the Hudson. To Washington he
only made answer, that he had desired Heath to
detach two thousand men to his relief; his own
army could not get over in time to answer any
purpose.
28 On the twenty- third of November he received
most elaborate instructions, written by Washington
himself two days before, accompanied by a private
letter from Reed, Washington's letter he at once
garbled so as to convey false impressions, and sent
the disconnected passages to Bowdoin with the
message : ^' Affairs appear in so important a crisis,
that I think even the resolves of the congress must
no longer nicely weigh with us. We must save the
community, in spite of the ordinances of the legis-
lature. There are times when we must commit
WASHINGTON'S RETREAT THROUGH THE JERSEYS. 205
treason against the laws of the state for the sal- chap.
vation of the state. The present crisis demands
this brave, virtuous kind of treason. For my own
part, (and I flatter myself my way of thinking is
congenial with that of Mr. Bowdoin,) I will stake
my head and reputation on the propriety of the
measure." His answer to Washington, which he
kept back for two days, announced but little be-
yond his intention to stay where he was for two
days more. The letter from Reed, who w^as habit-
ually irresolute, and who was now too tremulous
and desponding to discriminate between the forti-
tude of Washington and the fickleness of Lee, ran
thus : " You have decision, a quality often wanted
in minds otherwise valuable. Oh, General, an in-
decisive mind is one of the greatest misfortunes
that can befall an army ; how often have I lament-
ed it this campaign. All circumstances considered,
we are in a very awful and alarming situation ;
one that requires the utmost wisdom and firmness
of mind. If congress will not, or cannot, bend
their whole attention to the plan of the new
army, I fear all our exertions will be in vain in
this part of the world." Lee greedily inhaled the
flattery of the man who professed to be the bosom
friend of Washington, and on the twenty-fourth 24
wrote back : " My dear Reed, I lament with you
that fatal indecision of mind which in war is a
much greater disqualification than stupidity, or
even want of personal courage ; accident may put
a decisive blunder in the right, but eternal defeat
and miscarriage must attend the man of the best
parts, if cursed with indecision." Before the end
VOL. IX 18
206 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, of the month this echo to Reed's letter, having
XII.
v^-Y-^ outwardly the form of an official despatch, fell
*nV' under the eye of Washington.
2J. The daily and precise letters and mandates of
Washington admitted no. subterfuge. On the twen-
ty-sixth Lee promised obedience ; he then turned to
chide Heath for having thwarted his purpose ; and
wound up his note with these words : " The com-
mander-in-chief is now separated from us ; I, of
course, command on this side the water ; for the
future, I will and must be obeyed." Assuming the
air of authority in chief, he sent letters to three
New England colonies, proposing a temporary em-
bargo, that the privateersmen might be driven to
seek employment in the army. And again to Mas-
sachusetts he urged the annual drafting of every
seventh man ; adding, to a puritan colony, his
" most fervent prayer that God Almighty may
assist in this pious work." Congress had lost much
of its purity and dignity by the transfer of many
of its ablest members ; yet as nothing encouraged
him to expect the dictatorship from that body, or
from Massachusetts advice to save the country
bv " virtuous treason " or from his division a will-
ing complicity in disobedience, he consented to
cross the river ; but he was still determined to
avoid a junction with the commander-in-chief, and
to impress into his own separate army all the
forces which he could intercept. To Washington's
mild reproaches for his not being sooner in motion,
80. he answered on the thirtieth from Peekskill : " I
shall exphiin my difficulties, when we both have
leisure." Of Heath he demanded the transfer of
WASHINGTON'S RETREAT THROUGH THE JERSEYS. 207
his best reo*iments. The honest officer refused, cttap.
o ' XII.
producing his instructions. Lee insisted ; assumed ^ — ^ — *
command at the post, and issued his own orders ; ^ Jr^^^*
but soon recalled them ; for none approved his
overturning the careful disposition which had been
made for the security of the Highlands.
On the second and third of December his divi- D«c.
2 3.
sion passed the ferry ; but he claimed to be "a
detached general," bound only " to make an im-
portant diversion." At Haverstraw, on the fourth, 4.
at the time when the army which he should have
joined had shrunk to less than three thousand men,
he heard of the approach of some of the seven
regiments which Schuyler had transferred from the
northern army ; and he wrote to Washington : " I
shall put myself at their head to-morrow ; w^e
shall compose an army of five thousand good
troops," giving an exaggerated return of his
numbers. From Pompton, on the seventh, he 7.
sent Malmedy, a French officer of no merit, and
utterly ignorant of English, to assume the general
command of the troops collected for the defence
of Ehode Island ; and in his letter to the gov-
ernor of that state he sneered at Washington as
neither " a heaven-born genius," nor one who had
"theory joined to practice," and therefore destitute
of the qualities which could " alone constitute a
general." On the eighth, from Morristown, while 8.
the general was retiring before Howe and Corn-
wallis, and escaping beyond the Delaware with
his half-starved, half-clad soldiers, few and weak
and worn and seemingly doomed, Lee announced
to Richard Henry Lee and Rush, the committee
208 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, of congress, that it was not his intention " to
XII.
join the army with Washington," because, said he,
" I am assured he is very strong." This he penned
with an unbounded audacity of falsehood, having
at the moment the messenger from Wasliington at
his side. To Washington, w^ho had hoped by pon-
cert with him to achieve some great success, he
used the same plain language of disobedience, and
wrote that he would " hang on the enemy's rear,
and annoy them in a desultory war." Then, as if
to make the grief for his delay more poignant, he
reports his division as amounting to four thousand
noble-spirited men. " On receiving my despatches
by Major Hoops," wrote Washington to congress,
" I should suppose he would be convinced of the
necessity of his proceeding this way with all the
force he can brinsr." Lee had received the de-
spatches by Major Hoops, and still adhering to his
plan of remaining in the enemy's rear, had an-
swered in a letter which, with the exception of
a deceitful memorandum without signature, was his
last communication to his chief during the cam-
paign : " I shall look about me to-morrowj and
9. inform you further." From Chatham, which he
selected as his post, he on that morrow hurried
off orders to Heath to have three regiments just
arrived from Ticonderoga join him without loss of
time, saying : "I am in hopes here to reconquer
the Jerseys ; it was really in the hands of the
enemy before my arrival."
12. On the twelfth his division marched with Sulli-
van eight miles only to Yealtown ; but Lee, with
a small guard, proceeded on the flank, three or
WASHINGTON'S RETREAT THROUGH THE JERSEYS. 209
four miles nearer the enemy, who were but eigh- chap.
teen miles off; and passed the night at White's
tavern at Baskingridge. The next morning he lay
in bed till eight o'clock. On rising he w^asted two
hours with Wilkinson, a messenger from Gates, in
boasting of his own prowess and cavilling at every-
thing done by others. Never was a general in a
position more free from difficulties; he had only
to obey an explicit order from his superior officer,
which there' was nothing to prevent but his own
caprices. It was ten o'clock before he sat down to
breakfast ; after which he took time, in a letter to
Gates, to indulge his spleen towards Washington in
this wise : " My dear Gates, The ingenious manoeu-
vre of Fort Washington has unhinged the goodly
fabric we had been building^. There never was so
damned a stroke. Entre nous, a certain great man
is most damnably deficient. He has thrown me
into a situation where I have my choice of
difficulties : if I stay in this province, I risk my-
self and army ; and if I do not stay, the prov-
ince is lost forever. I have neither guides, cav-
alry, medicines, money, shoes, or stockings. I must
act with the greatest circumspection. Tories are
in my front, rear, and on my flanks ; the mass of
the people is strangely contaminated ; in short, un-
less something which I do not expect turns up, we
are lost. Our counsels have been weak to the last
degree. As to yourself, if you think you can be
in time to aid the general, I would have you by
all means go ; you will at least save your army.
It is said that the whigs are determined to set
fire to Philadelphia ; if they strike this decisive
18*
210 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, stroke, the day will be our own ; but unless it is
XII. 1 J 7
s^-^-^ done, all chance of liberty in any part of the
J. ' globe is forever vanished. Adieu, my dear friend ;
13. God bless you. Charles Lee." The paper, which
he signed, was not yet folded, when Wilkinson,
at the window, cried out : " Here are the British
cavalry." " Where ? " asked Lee.
The young Lieutenant- Colonel Harcourt, eager
for distinction, had asked and obtained of Corn-
wallis the command of a scouting pafty of thirty
dragoons, and learning on the way Lee's foolhardy
choice of lodgings, he approached the house undis-
covered, and surrounded it by a sudden charge.
Had Lee followed the advice of De Virnejoux, a
gallant French captain in the American service,
who was in the house, he would have escaped.
But Harcourt, who knew that, to succeed, his work
must be done quickly, called out to Lee to come
forth immediately, or the house would be set on
fire ; and within two minutes, he who had made
it his habitual boast that he would never be taken
alive, sneaked out unarmed, bareheaded, without
cloak, in slippers and blanket-coat, his collar open,
his shirt very much soiled from several days' wear,
pale from fear, with the abject manner of a coward,
and entreated the dragoons to spare his life. They
seized him just as he was, and set him on Wilkin-
son's horse, which stood ready saddled at the door.
One of his aids, who came out with him, was
. mounted behind Harcourt's servant; and at the
signal by the trumpet, just four minutes from the
time of surrounding the house, they began their
return. On the way, Lee recovered from his panic,
WASHINGTON'S RETREAT THROUGH THE JERSEYS. 211
and ranted violently about his having for a moment chap.
obtained the supreme command, giving many signs > — y — '
of wildness and of a mind not perfectly right. At ^^^ *
Princeton, when he was brought in, he was denied i3.
the use of materials for writhig;^ and an officer and
two guards were placed in his room. He demanded
to be received under the November proclamation
of the Howes; and on being refused its benefits,
and reminded that he might be tried as a deserter,
he flew into an extravagant rage, and railed at
the faithlessness and treachery- of the Americans as
the cause of his mishap.''^
No hope remained to the United States but in
Washington. His retreat of ninety miles through
the Jerseys, protracted for eighteen or nineteen
days, in an inclement season, often in sight and
within cannon-shot of his enemies, his rear pull-
ing down bridges, and their van building them up,
had no principal purpose but to effect delay, till
midwinter and impassable roads should offer their
protection. The actors, looking back upon the
crowded disasters which overwhelmingly fell on
them, knew not how they got through, or by
what springs of animation they were sustained.
' The letter, without date of time arrival of the rumor of Lee*s cap-
or place, and purportinj; to be from tivity ; and had it been jrenuine,
General I^ee to Captain Kennedy, there is no conceivable channel by
is not fjenuine, as all external and which, accordinor to any ealcula-
internal evidence proves. The style tion of probabilities, it could have
is not that of Lee ; the sentiments reached that journal at so early a
are not his. Captain Kennt-dy was day.
a prisoner among the Americans. ^ Geo. H. Moore's Treason of
Lee was not allowed to write, as we Lee is the fruit of comprehensive
know from one of Howe's aids. Re- and thorough research. It is con-
port of F. von Munchhausen in the firmed by documents of unquestion-
Brunswick papers. The letter was able authenticity and is the first
printed in the Middlesex Journal of correct sketch of the early career
Feb. 20, 1777, immediately on the of Lee iu the American service.
212 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. The virtues of their leader touched the sympa-
" — r — ' thies of officers and men; they bore each other
P^^ * up with perseverance, as if conscious, that, few
and wasted as they were, they were yet to save
their country.
CHAPTER XIII
TRENTON.
December 11 — 26, 1776. ^
The British posts on the eastern side of the chap.
XII [.
Delaware drew near to Philadelphia ; rumor re-
ported ships of war in the bay ; the wives and chil-
dren of the inhabitants were escaping with their
papers and property; and the contagion of panic
broke out in congress. . On the eleventh of De-
cember they called on the states to fix, each for
itself, a day of flisting and humiliation ; and, with
a feverish pretension to courage, they resolved
that " Washington should contradict, in general or-
ders, the false and malicious report that they w^ere
about to disperse, or adjourn from Philadelphia, un-
less the last necessity should direct it." He de-
clined publishing the vote, and wisely; for, on the
twelfth, after advice from Putnam and Mifflin, they 12.
voted to adjourn to Baltimore, throwing upon the
commander-in-chief the responsibility of directing
all things relative to the operations of war. It is
214 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, on record that Samuel Adams, mastered by enthu-
XIII. . . , ^ •'
' — Y-^' siasm and glowing with health and excitement,
Dec' w^i^^h grew with adversity, resisted the proposition
of removal. His speech has not been preserved,
but its purport may be read in his letters of tlie
time: "1 do not regret the part I have taken in a
cause so just and interesting to mankind. The
people of Pennsylvania and the Jerseys seem deter-
mined to give it up, but I trust that my dear New
England will maintain it at the expense of every-
thing dear to them in this life ; they know how to
prize their liberties. May Heaven bless them. If
this city should be surrendered, I should by no
means despair." "Britain will strain every nerve
to subjugate America next year ; she will call
wicked men and devils to her aid. Our affairs
abroad wear a promising aspect; but I conjure
you not to depend too much upon foreign aid.
Let America exert her own strength. Let her
depend on God's blessing, and he who caimot be
indifferent to her righteous cause will even work
miracles if necessary to carry her through this glo-
rious conflict, and establish her feet upon a rock."
As a military precaution, Putnam ordered " the
inhabitants of the city not to appear in the
streets after ten o'clock at night." He promised
in no event to burn the city w^hich he was
charged to defend to the last extremity, and would
not allow any one to remain an idle spectator of
the contest, " persons under conscientious scruples
alone excepted." But the Quakers did not remain
neutral. Indh^ectly disfranchised by the new form
of government, they yearned for their old connec-
TRENTON. 215
tion with England; at their meethig held at Phila- chap.
A ill*
delphia for Pennsylvania and New Jersey, they re-
fused "in person or by other assistance to join in
carrying on the war ; " and with fond regret they
recalled to mind " the happy constitution " under
which " they and others had long enjoyed peace."
The needless flight of congress, which took place
amidst the jeers of tories and the maledictions of
patriots, gave a stab to public credit, and fostered
a general disposition to refuse continental money.
At his home near the sea, John Adams was as
stout of heart as ever. The conflict thus far had
been less severe than he from the first had ex-
pected ; though greater disappointments should be
met, though France should hold back, though Phil-
adelphia should fall, " I," said he, " do not doubt of
ultimate success."
Confident that the American troops would melt la.
away at the approaching expiration of their en-
gagements, Howe on the thirteenth prepared to re-
turn to his w^inter-quarters in New York, leaving
Donop, as acting brigadier, with two Hessian bri-
gades, the yagers, and the forty-second Highlanders,
to hold the line from Trenton to Burlington. At
Princeton Howe refused to see Lee, who was held 14.
as a deserter from the British army, and was taken
under a close guard to Brunswick and afterw\ards
to New York. Cornwallis left Grant in command
in New Jersey, and w^s hastening to embark for
England. By orders committed to Donop, the in-
habitants who in bands or separately should fire
upon any of the army, were to be hanged upon
the nearest tree without further process. All pro-
21G AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, visions which exceeded the wants of an ordinary
xni. „ . , . . .
family were to be seized alike from whig or tory.
Life and property were at the mercy of foreign
hirelings. There were examples where English sol
diers forced women to suffer what was w^orse thar
death, and on one occasion pursued girls still chil
dren in years, who had fled to the woods. The
attempts to restrain the Hessians w^ere given up.
under the apology that the habit of plunder pre-
vented desertions. A British officer reports offi-
cially: "They were led to believe, before they left
Hesse- Cassel, that they were to come to America
to establish their private fortunes, and hitherto they
have certainly acted with that principle."
14. It was the opinion of Donop that Trenton should
be protected on the flanks by garrisoned redoubts ;
but Eall, who, as a rew^ard for his brilliant services,
through the interposition of Grant obtained the sep-
arate command of that post, with fifty yagers,
twenty dragoons, and the whole of his own brigade,
would not heed the suggestion. Kenewing his ad-
vice at parting, on the morning of the fourteenth,
Donop marched out with his brigade to find quar-
ters chiefly at Bordentown and Blackhorse, till
Burlington, w^hich lies low, should be protected
from the American row-galleys by heavy cannon.
16. On the sixteenth, it was rumored that Washington
with a large force hovered on the right flank of
Hall; but in answer to Donop's reports of that day
and the next, Grant wrote : " I am certain the
rebels no longer have any strong corps on this
aide of the river; the story of Washington's cross-
ing the Delaware at this season of the year if*
XIII.
TRENTON. 217
not to be believed." ^ " Let them come," said chap.
Rail ; " what need of intrenchments ? We will at
them with the bayonet.'"^ At all alarms he set
troops in motion, but not from apprehension, for
he laughed the mouldering army of the rebels to
scorn. His delight was in martial music; and for
hiui the hautboys at the main guard could never
play too long. He was constant at parade ; and
on the relief of the sentries and of the pickets,
all officers and under-officers were obliged to ap-
pear at his quarters, to give an aspect of great
importance to his command. Cannon which should
have been in position for defence, stood in front
of his door, and every day were escorted for show
through the town. He was not seen in the morn-
ing until nine, or even ten or eleven; for every
ni*;ht he indulo-ed himself in late carousals. So
passed his twelve days of command at Trenton ;
and they were the proudest and happiest of his life.
" No man w\as ever overwhelmed by greater
difficulties, or had less means to extricate him-
self from them," than Washington ; but the sharp
tribulation which assayed his fortitude carried with
it a divine and animating virtue. Hope and zeal
illuminated his grief His emotions come to us
across the century like strains from that eternity
which repairs all losses and rights all wTongs ; in
1 Diary kept in Donop's com- 7 December, 1780. AViedorhold,
maud, written by himself or one of the author, was at Trenton. Tajre-
his aids. The narrative is very mi- biich des Ilessischen Lieutenants
nute and exact. Unluckily I have Piel, v. 1776-1783, has a good
but a part of it, from Dec. 10 to the sketch of Rail. Tajrebuch des Jo-
end of the year 17 76. hannes Keuber, a private soldier in
* Ta^xebuch eines Kurhessischen the regiment Rail. Ewald's Feld-
Officiers vom 7 October, 1776, bis zug der liessen nach America.
VOL. IX. 19
CHAP.
xiir.
218 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
his untold .sorrows, his trust in Providence kept
up in his heart an under-song of wonderful sweet-
ness. The spirit of the Most High dwells among
the afflicted, rather than the prosperous ; and he
who has never broken his bread in tears knows not
the heavenly powers.-^ The trials of Washington
are the dark, solemn ground on which the beauti-
ful work of his country's salvation was embroidered.
14. On the fourteenth of December, believing that
Howe was on his way to New York, he resolved
" to attempt a stroke upon the forces of the enemy,
who lay a good deal scattered, and to all appear-
ance in a state of security," as soon as he could be
joined by the troops under Lee.^ Meantime, he ob-
J
1 « -yyei. nie geJn Brod mit Thra-
nen ass, Der kennt cucli nieht," &c.
2 When anything in the cam-
paign went ill, there were never
wanting persons to cast the blame
on Washington ; and there was al-
ways some pretender to the merit
of what he did well. Washington,
on his retreat from Princeton, formed
the fixed design to turn upon the
British as soon as he should be
joined by Lee's division. "I shall
face about and govern myself by
the movements of General Lee,"
wrote \Vashlngton, Dec. 5, to con-
gress. Sparks's Washington, iv.
202. Dec. 12, to Trumbull, Force,
iii. 1186 : "to turn upon the enemy
and recovei" most of the ground they
had gained." He shadowed out his
purpose more definitely as soon as
it was known that Howe had left
Trenton. Dec. 14, to Trumbull,
Washington, iv. 220: "a stroke
upon the forces of the enemy, who
lie a good deal scattered." The like
to Gates, Dec. 14, in Force, iii.
1216. On the 26th, Robert Morris
wrote of the attack on Trenton :
" This manoeuvre of the general had
been determined on some days ago,
but he kept it secret as the nature
of the service would admit." How
many days he does not specify ; but
Dec. 18, Marshall, a leading and
well-informed patriot in Philadel-
phia, enters in his accurate diary,
p. 122 : " Our army intend to cross
at Trenton into the Jerseys." A
letter of the 1 9th, in Force, iii. 1295,
says: "before one week." On the
same 1 9th, Greene writes : " I hope
to give the enemy a stroke in a few
days." Force, iii. 1342. On the
20th, Washington writes : " The
present exigency will not admit of
delay in the field." On the 21st,
Robert Morris writes to Washing-
ton : " I have been told to-day that
you are preparing to cross into the
Jerseys. I hope it may be true ;
. . . nothinjT would give me jjreater
pleasure than to l«ar of such oc-
currences as your exalted merit de-
serves." Force, iii. 1331. On the
same 21st, Robert Morris, by letter,
communicated the design to the
American commissioners in France
as a matter certainly resolved upon
Force, iii. 1333 The Donop jour
TRENTON. 219
tained exact accounts of New Jersey and its best chap.
military positions, from opposite Philadelphia to the
hills at Morristown. Every boat was secured far
up the little streams that flow to the Delaware ;
and his forces, increased by fifteen hundred volun-
teers from Philadelphia, guarded the crossing-places
from the falls at Trenton to below Bristol. He
made every exertion to threaten the Hessians on
both flanks by militia, at Morristown on the north,
and on the south at Mount Holly.
The "days of waiting he employed in presenting
congress with a plan for an additional number of
battalions, to be raised and officered directly by
the United States without the intervention of the
several states ; thus taking the first great step
towards a real unity of government. On the
twelfth he had written : " Perhaps congress have
some hope and prospect of reenforcements. I have
no intelligence of the sort, and wish to be informed
on the subject. Our little handful is daily decreas-
ing by sickness and other causes; and without
considerable exertions on the part of the people,
what can we reasonably look for ? The subject is
disagreeable ; but yet it is true." On the sixteenth 16.
nal, in reportinjj the information ters are jroofl, when it may serve
whi(;li was furnished by (leneral after wanls for a man's justification
Grant's s[)y, and of which the sub- to produce his own letter." In 1 782
stance was found among Rail's pa- Reed wished to produce this letter
pers, appears to me to have reported for his justification ; and somehow or
nothing but what hap{)ened before other garbled extracts from it found
any letterof the twenty-second could their way into Gordon, ii. 391, and
have been considered. The elab- into Wilkinson, i. 124, with a letter •
orate letter of Reed to Washington, from Washington to Reed. Wash-
Dec. 22, 17 76, proves at most that ington nowhere gives Reed credit
Reed was not in the secret. As for aid in the plan or execution of
adjutant-general, his place was at the affair at Trenton ; nor does any
Washington's side, if he was eager one else who was concerned in the
for action. Lord Bacon says : *' Let- preparations for that action.
220 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, he continued : " I am more and more convinced of
the necessity of raising more battahons for the
new army than what have been voted. The
enemy will leave nothing unessayed in the next
campaign ; and fatal experience has given its sanc-
tion to the truth, that the militia are not to be
depended upon, but in cases of the most pressing
emergency. Let us have an army competent to
90. every exigency." On the twentieth he grew more
urgent : " I have waited with much impatience to
know the determination of congress on the- propo-
sitions made in October last for augmenting our
corps of artillery. The time is come when it
cannot be delayed without the greatest injury to
the safety of these states, and, therefore, under the
resolution of congress bearing date the twelfth
instant, by the pressing advice of all the general
officers now here, I have ventured to order three
battalions of artillery to be immediately recruited.
This may appear to congress premature and un-
warrantable ; but the present exigency of our
affairs will not admit of delay, either in the coun-
cil or the field. Ten days more will put an end
to the existence of this army. If, therefore, in the
short interval in which we have to make these ar-
duous preparations, every matter that in its nature
is self-evident is to be referred to congress, at the
distance of a hundred and thirty or forty miles, so
much time must elapse as to defeat the end in view.
• " It may be said that this is an application for
powders too dangerous to be intrusted ; I can only
say, that desperate diseases require desperate rem-
edies. I have no lust after power; I wish with
TRENTON. 221
as much fervency as any man upon this wide-ex- chap.
tended continent for an opportunity of turning the
sword into the ploughshare; but my feelings as an
ofticer and as a man have been such as to force
me to say, that no person ever had a greater
choice of difficulties to contend with than I have.
It is needless to add, that short enlistments, and a
mistaken dependence upon militia, have been the
origin of all our misfortunes, and of the great
accumulation of our debt. The enemy are daily
gathering strength from the disaffected. This
strength will increase, unless means can be devised
to check effectually the progress of his arms.
Militia may possibly do it for a little while; but
in a little while, also, the militia of those states
which have been frequently called upon will not
turn out at all ; or if they do, it will be with so
much reluctance and sloth as to amount to the
same thing. Instance New Jersey ! Witness Penn-
sylvania! The militia come in, you cannot tell
how ; go, you cannot tell when ; and act, you cannot
tell where ; consume your provisions, exhaust your
stores, and leave you at last at a critical moment.
" These are the men I am to depend upon ten
days hence ; this is the basis on which your cause
must forever depend, till you get a standing army,
sufficient of itself to oppose the enemy. This is
not a time to stand upon expense. If any good
officers will offer to raise men upon continental
pay and establishment in this quarter, I shall en-
courage them to do so, and regiment them, when
they have done it. If congress disapprove of this
proceeding, they will please to signify it, as I
19*
222 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, mean it for the best. It may be thouglit I am
going a good deal out of the line of my duty, to
adopt these measures, or to advise thus freely. A
character to lose, an estate to forfeit, the inestima-
ble blessings of liberty at stake, and a life devoted,
must be my excuse."
*4' On the twenty-fourth he resumed his warnings :
a Very few have enlisted again, not more from an
aversion to the service, than from the non-appoint-
ment of officers in some instances, the turning out
of good and appointing of bad in others; the last
of this month I shall be left with from fourteen to
fifteen hundred effective men in the whole. This
handful, and such militia as may choose to join
me, will then compose our army. When I reflect
upon these things, they fill me with concern. To
guard against General Howe's designs, and the
execution of them, shall employ my every exer-
tion ; but how is this to be done ?
" The obstacles which have arisen to the raising
of the new army from the mode of appointing
officers, induce me to hope, that, if congress resolve
on an additional number of battalions to those al-
ready voted, they wdll devise some other rule by
which the officers, especially the field-officers, should
• be appointed. Many of the best have been neglect-
ed, and those of little worth and less experience
put in their places or promoted over their heads."
On the same day, Greene wrote, in support of
the new policy : ^' I am far from thinking the
American cause desperate, yet I conceive it to
be in a critical situation. To remedy evils, the
general should have power to appoint officers to
TRENTON. 223
enlist at large. The present existence of the civil chap.
depends upon the military power. I am no advo-
cate for the extension of military power; neither
would I advise it at present but from the fullest
conviction of its being absolutely necessary. There
never was a man that might be more safely trust-
ed, nor a time when there was a louder call." ,
Here was the proposed beginning of a new era in
the war. Hitherto, congress had raised troops by
requisitions on the states ; and as their requisitions
had failed, leave was now asked for Washington
himself to recruit and organize two-and-twenty bat-
talions for the general service under the authority
of the union.
On the twentieth, the very day on which Frank- 20.
lin reached Paris, Gates and Sullivan arrived at
head-quarters, at Newtown. The former was fol-
lowed by five hundred effective men, who were all
that remained of four New England regiments ; but
these few were sure to be w^ell led, for Stark of
New Hampshire was their oldest officer. Sullivan
brought Lee's division, with which he had crossed
the Delaware at Easton.
No time was lost in preparing for the surprise
of Trenton. Counting all the troops from head-
quarters to Bristol, including the detachments
which came with Gates and Sullivan and the mili-
tia of Pennsylvania, the army was reported at no
more than six thousand two hundred men, and there
were in fact not so many by twelve or fourteen
hundred.^ " Our numbers," said Washington, " are
J This enumeration jjives a less innfton, iv. 244. The discrepancy
number tlian the note iu Wash- is thus accounted for : Lee's force
224 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, less than I had any conception of; but necessity,
dire necessity will, nay must, justify an attack."
On the twenty-third, he wrote for the watchword :
"Victory or death. "^ The like devoted spirit ani-
mates the words which were penned by Jay, and
which the representatives of New York on that
same day addressed to its people.
The general officers, especially Stirling, Mercer,
Sullivan, and, above all, Greene, rendered the great-
est aid in preparing the expedition ; but the men
who had been with Lee were so cast down and in
want of everything, that the plan could not be
ripened before Christmas night. Washington ap-
proved the detention at Morristown of six hundred
New England men from the northern army; and
sent Maxwell, of New Jersey, to take command of
them and the militia collected at the same place,
with orders to distress the enemy, to harass them
in their quarters, to cut off their convoys, and if
a detachment should move towards Trenton or the
Delaware, to fall upon their rear and annoy them
on their march. Griffin, with all the force he could
concentre at Mount Holly, was to employ the Hes-
sians under Donop. Ewing, with more than five
hundred men, who lay opposite Trenton, was to
cross near the town. Putnam was at the last mo-
was included in the return of Dec. Nov. 9, (Force, iii. 702,) excluding
22, (compare Force, iii. 831 and those on command an<l the sick, was
1402); the four New England reg- no more than five hundred and
imcnts, said to have amounted to seventy- eight effective men ; the
about twelve huinired, were raised numbers must have been reduced
by the highest rumor only to nine by six weeks' service and a winter's
hundred, (Shippen in Force, iii. march from Ticonderoga to Penn-
1258,) and as they drew nearer sylvania.
were estimated at five hundred, (R. 1 MS. diary of Benjamin Ru?h,
Morris in Force, iii. 1333) ; the re- who saw Washington write it.
turn for the four regiments, made
TRENTON. 225
ment to lead over a force from Philadelphia. The chap.
most important subsidiary movement was to be ^ — y — '
made with about two thousand troops from Bristol, j^^'
and of this party Gates was requested to take the 23.
lead. "If you could only stay there two or three
days, I should be glad," said Washington,^ using the
hmtjciiayre of entreatv.
The country people were supine or hostile, and
environed the camp with spies. But the British
commander in New Jersey, though informed of
the proposed attack on Trenton, and though the
negroes in the town used to jeer at the Hessians
that Washington was coming, persuaded himself
there would be no crossing of the river with a
large force, " because the running ice would make
the return desperate or impracticable." " Besides,"
he wrote on the twenty-first, "Washington's men
have neither shoes nor stockings nor blankets, are
almost naked, and dying of cold and want of food.
On the Trenton side of the Delaware they have
not altogether three hundred men ; and these stroll
in small parties under a subilltern, or at most a
captain, to lie in wait for dragoons."
The day before Christmas, Grant again sent 24.
word : " It is perfectly certain there are no more
rebel troops in Jersey; they only send over small
parties of twenty or thirty men ; on the last Sun-
day, Washington told his assembled generals that
the British are weak at Trenton and Princeton.
I wish the Hessians to be on their guard against
a sudden attack; but, at the same time, I give my
opinion that nothing of the kind will be under-
' Washington to Gates, Dec. 23. MS., communicated by G. 11. Moore
226 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, taken." With equal assurance, Rail scoffed at the
XIII. . .
idea that Americans should dare to come against
him ; and Donop was so unsuspecting, that, after
driving away the small American force fi'om Mount
Holly, w^here he received a wound in the head, he
remained at that post to administer the oath of
allegiance, and to send forward a party to Cooper's
creek, opposite Philadelphia.
European confidence in the success of the British
w\as at its height. "Franklin's troops have been
beaten by those of the king of England," wrote
Voltaire; "alas! reason and liberty are ill received
in this world." Vergennes, indeed, saw with clear-
est vision the small results of the campaign ; but
the king was not disposed to take any decided step ;
and in reply to rumors favorable to the rebels,
Stormont would say that he left their refutation to
General Howe, whose answer w^ould be as complete
a one as ever was given. At Cassel, Howe was called
another Csesar, who came and saw and conquered.
In England, some believed Franklin had come to
France as a runaway for safety, others to offer
terms. The repeated successes had fixed or con-
verted "ninety-nine in one hundred." Burke never
expected serious resistance from the colonies. " It
is the time," said Rockingham, " to attempt in ear-
nest a reconciliation with America." Even Lord
North, who was apt to despond, thought that Corn-
wallis would sweep the American army before him,
and that the first operations of the coming spring
would end the quarrel.
At New York all was mirth and jollity. On his
arrival, Howe met the messenger who, in return for
TRENTON. 227
the victory on Tx)ng Island, brought him excessive chap.
encoiniurns from the minister and accumuhited hon-
ors from the king. The young English officers were
preparing to amuse themselves by the performance
of plays at the theatre, for the benefit of the widows
and children of sufferers by the w^ar. The markets
were well supplied ; balls w^ere given to satiety ;
and the dulness of evening parties was dispelled
by the faro-table, where subalterns competed wdth
their superiors, and ruined themselves by play.
Howe fired his sluggish nature by w^ne and good
cheer; his mistress spent his money prodigally, but
the continuance of the war promised him a great
fortune. The unrelenting refugees grumbled be-
cause Lord Howe would not break the law by suf-
fering them to fit out privateers; and they envied
the fioods of wealth w^hich poured in upon him
from his eighth part of prize-money on captures
made by his squadron. As the fighting was over,
Corn wall is sent his baggage on board the packet
for England. The brothers, who w^ere in imiversal
favor with the army, gave the secretary of state
imder their joint hands an assurance of the con-
quest of all New Jersey ; and every one in New
York was lookino^ out for festivals on the inves-
titure of Sir William Howe as knight of the Bath.
His flatterers, full of his coming triumphs, wTote
home that unless there should be more tardiness
in noticing his merit, the king would very soon
use up all the honors of the peerage in reward-
ing his victories.
The day arrived for the concerted attack on the 25.
British posts along the Delaware ; and complete
228 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
OTAP. success could come only from the exact cooperation
* — Y — ' of every part. Gates was the first to fail, and, from
jy^^ ' wilful disobedience and want of hope and courage,
25. turned his back on danger, duty, and honor. He
disapproved of Washington's station above Trenton :
the British would secretly construct boats, pass the
Delaware in his rear, and take Philadelphia ; so
that he ought to retire to the south of the Susque-
hanna. Refusing the service asked of him, and
eager to intrigue with congress at Baltimore, Gates,
w^ith Wilkinson, rode away from Bristol ; and as
they entered Philadelphia after dark on Christmas
eve, they seemed to have penetrated a silent wil-
derness of streets, along which the tread of their
horses resounded in all directions. Griffin had al-
ready abandoned New Jersey, flying before Donop;
Putnam would not think of conducting an expedi-
tion across the river.
At nightfall, Cadwalader, who was lefl in sole
command at Bristol, with honest zeal marched to
Donk's ferry ; it was the time of the full moon, but
the clouds were thick and dark. For about an
hour that remained of the ebb-tide the river was
passable in boats, and Reed, who just then re-
turned from a visit to Philadelphia, was able to
cross on horseback ; but the tide, beginning to rise,
threw back the ice in such heaps on the Jersey
shore, that, though men on foot still got over,
neither horses nor artillery could reach the land.
Sending back word that it was impossible to carry
out their share in Washington's plan. Reed deserted
the party, and rode to safe (quarters within the
enemy's lines at Burlington, having previously ob-
TRENTON.
229
tained leave for a conference with Donop.^ Mean- chap.
while, during one of the worst nights of Decem-
ber, the men waited with their arms in their hands
for the floating ice to open a passage; and only
after vainly suffering for many hours, they returned
to their camp, to shake the snow from their gar-
ments, and creep for rest into their tents, without
fire or light. Cadwalader, and the best men about
him, were confident that Washington, like them-
selves, must have given up the expedition. Ewing
did not even make an effort to cross at Trenton;
and Moylan, who set off on horseback to overtake
Washington and share the honors of the day, be-
* The Donop diary, which is re-
markably precise, full, and accu-
rate, alludes to Colonel Reed as hav-
ing actually obtained a protection.
The statement, though made inci-
dentally, is positive and un(|UHlified.
Here are ttie extracts relating to
Reed. Dec. 20 : " Eodem wurde mit
einer Flagjje Truce an den Oberst
V. Donop vom Rebellen-Obersten
Ree<i, welcher zugleich (ieneral- Ad-
jutant bei Washington ist, ein Brief
iiberschickt, worinnen letzterer dem
Obersten von Donop Namens des
Gen. W^ashington proponirte : Ob
es nic'ht gefallig, wegen Burlington
des folgenden Tages niit ihm eine
Unterrediing zu halten, weil dieser
Ort von bciden Seiten in der jetzi-
gen Situation sehr exponirt ware ;
dem Obersten Donop wurde Stunde
und Ort zu dieser Unterredung zu
bestinunen iiberlassen. Er antwor-
tete sogleifh darauf, dass seine der-
malige Situation ihm nicht erlaube,
sich von seinem Posten zu entfer-
nen." Dec. 21 : " Der Oberst Reed,
der neulich eine Protection erhalten,
•eye dem General Mifflin entgegen
gekommen, und habe demselben de-
clarirt, dass er nicht gesonnen sey
weiteres zu dienen, worauf ihin
Mifflin sehr hart begegnete und
ihm sogar einen dem Rascal geheis-
sen habe." " Zugleich wurde des
Oberst Reed's Brief, worin derselbo
eine Unterredung wegen Burling-
ton proponirte, und die darauf er-
theilte Antwort communicirt. Es
ware nicht zu vermuthen dass die
Rebellen,MoMt Holly soutiniren und
Burlington neutral declariren wiir-
den, indem letztt^rer Ort von der
kleinen Insel vor Bristol mit 6 pfiind.
beschossen und Mont Holly hinge-
gen weggenommen werden kbnnte,
wenn man nur wollte." Dec. 25:
" Eodem schickt der Oberst v. Do-
nop eine Flagge Truce nach Bur-
lington, und otTerirte dem Colonel
Reed, die vorhin verlangte Unter-
redung wegen <lieser Stadt mit ihm
zu halten ; es kam aber vom Oboist
Cadwalader die Antwort zuriick,
dass Reed nicht gegenwiirtig sey,
und erst Morgen wieder zurlirk er-
wartet ware, alsdenn erbltten wiirde,
eine andere Zeit und Ort zu dieser
Unterredunt; zu bestiramen."
VOL. IX.
20
230 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, came persuaded that no attempt could be made in
such a storm, and stopped on the road for shelter.
Superior impulses acted upon Washington and
his devoted soldiers. From his wasted troops he
could muster but twenty-four hundred men strong
enough to be his companions ; but they were vet-
erans and patriots, chiefly of New England, Penn-
sylvania, and Virginia. Among his general officers
were Greene and Mercer and Stirling and Sullivan ;
of field-ofhcers and others. Stark of New Hamp-
shire, Hand of Pennsylvania, Glover and Knox of
Massachusetts, Webb of Connecticut, Scott and Wil-
liam Washington and James Monroe of Virginia,
and Alexander Hamilton of New York. At three
in the afternoon they all began their march, each
man carrying three days' provisions and forty
rounds; and with eighteen field-pieces they reached
Mackonkey*s ferry just as twilight began. The
current was swift and stronc?, liurlino* alonsc masses
of ice. At the water's edge, Washington asked
aloud : " Who will lead us on ? " and the mariners
of Marblehead stepped forward to man the boats.
Just then a letter came from Reed, announcing that
no help was to be expected from Putnam or the
troops at Bristol ; and Washington, at six o'clock,
wrote this note to Cadwalader: "Notwithstanding
the disco urao^ino^ accounts I have received from
Colonel Reed of what might be expected from the
operations below, I am determined, as the night is
favorable, to cross the river, and make the attack
on Trenton in the morning. If you can do noth-
ing real, at least create as great a diversion as
possible." Hardly had these words been sent when
TRENTON.
231
Wilkinson joined the troops, "whose route he had chap,
easily traced, by the blood on the snow from the
feet of the men who wore broken shoes." He de-
livered a letter from General Gates. "From Gen-
eral Gates!" said Washington; "where is he?" "On
his way to congress," replied Wilkinson. "On his
way to congress!" repeated Washington, who had
only given him a reluctant consent to go as far as
Philadelphia.
At that hour an American patrol of twenty or
thirty men, led by Captain Anderson to reconnoitre
Trenton, made a sudden attack upon the post of
a Hessian subaltern, and wounded five or six men.
On the alarm, the Hessian brigade was put under
arms, and a part of Rail's regiment sent in pursuit.
On their return, they reported that they could dis-
cover nothing ; the attack was like those which
had been made repeatedly before, and was held to
be of no importance. The post was strengthened;
additional patrols were sent out; but every further
apprehension was put to rest ; and Rail passed the
evening hours, till late into the night, by his warm
fire, in his usual revels, while Washington was
crossing the Delaware.
" The night," writes Thomas Rodney, " was as se-
vere a night as ever I saw;" the frost was sharp,
the current difficult to stem, the ice increasing,
the wind high, and at eleven it began to snow.
It was three in the morning of the twenty-sixth sTe.
before the troops and cannon were all over ; and
another hour passed before they could be formed
on the Jersey side. A ^violent northeast storm of
wind and sleet and hail set in as they began their
232
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CH^P- nine miles' march to Trenton, ag«iinst an enemy in
the best condition to fight. The weather was ter-
rible for men clad as the Americans were, and the
ground slipped under their feet. For a mile and
a half they must climb a steep hill, fjom which
they descended to the road, that ran for about
three miles between hills and through forests of
hickory, ash, and black oak. At Birmingham the
anny was divided ; Sullivan continued near the
river, and Washington passed up into the Penning-
ton road. While Sullivan, who had the shortest
route, halted to give due time for the others to
arrive, he reported to Washington by one of his
aids, that the arms of his party were wet. "Then
tell your general," answered Washington, "to use
the bayonet, and penetrate into the town ; for the
town must be taken, and I am resolved to take it."
The return of the aide-de-camp was watched by
the soldiers, who raised their heads to listen ; and
hardly had he spoken, when those who had bay-
onets fixed them without waiting for a command.
It was now broad day. The slumber of the
Hessians had been undisturbed ; their patrols re-
ported that all was quiet ; and the night-watch of
yagers had turned in, leaving the sentries at their
seven advanced posts, to keep up the communi-
cation between their right wing and the left. The
storm beat violently in the faces of the Americans;
the men were stiff with cold and a continuous march
of fifteen miles; but now when the time for the
attack was come, they thought of nothing but
victory. The battle was begun by Washington's
party with an attack on the outermost picket on
TRENTON. 233
the Pennington road ; the men with Stark, who chap.
led the van of Sullivan's party, immediately gave
three heartening cheers, and with the bayonet
rushed upon the enemy's picket near the river.
A company came out of the barracks to protect
the patrol ; but surprised and astonished at the
fury of the charge, they all, including the ya-
gers, fled in confusion, escaping across the Assan-
pink, followed by the dragoons and the party
which was posted near the river-bank. Washington
entered the town by King and Queen streets, now
named after Warren and Greene; Sullivan moved
by the river- road into Second street, cutting off
the way to the Assanpink bridge ; and both di-
visions pushed forward with such equal ardor, as
never to suflier the Hessians to form completely.
The two cannon which stood in front of Rail's
quarters were from the first separated from the
regiment to which they belonged, and were not
brought into the action. The Americans were
coming into line of battle, when Rail made his
appearance, received a report, rode up in front of
his regiment, and, without presence of mind, cried
out to them : " Forward, nuirch ; advance, advance,"
reeling in the saddle like one not yet recovered
from a night's debauch. Ilis own regiment made an
attempt to form in the street ; but before it could
be done, a party pushed on rapidly and dismounted
its two cannon, with no injury but slight wounds
to Captain William Washington and James Monroe.
Forest's American battery of six guns was opened
upon two regiments at a distance of less than three
hundred yards, under Washington's own direction.
o
20*
234 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. His position was near the front, a little to the
right, a conspicuous mark for musketry; but he
remained unhurt, though his horse was wounded
under him. The moment for breaking through
the Americans was lost by Rail, who drew back
the Lossberg regiment and his own, but without
artillery, into an orchard east of the town, as if in-
tending to reach the road to Princeton by turning
Washington's left. To check this movement. Hand's
regiment was thrown in his front. By a quick
resolve, the passage might still have been forced ;
but the Hessians had been plundering ever since
they landed in the country ; and loath to leave
behind the wealth which they had amassed, they
urged Rail to recover the town. In the attempt
to do so, his force was driven by the impetuous
charge of the Americans further back than before;
he was himself struck bv a musket-ball ; and the
two regiments were mixed confusedly together,
and almost surrounded. Riding up to Washington,
Baylor could now report : " Sir, the Hessians have
surrendered ; " on which Washington, whose strong
will had been strained for seventeen hours, gave
way to his feelings, and with clasped hands raised
his eyes, gleaming with thankfulness, to heaven.
The Knyphausen regiment, which had been ordered
to cover the flank, strove to reach the Assanpink
brid":e throii«:h the fields on the southeast of the
town ; but losing time in extricating their two
cannon from the morass, they found the bridge
guarded on each side ; and after a vain attempt to
ford the rivulet, they surrendered to Lord Stirling
on condition of retaining their swords and their
TRENTON. 235
private baggage. The action, in wliich the Amer- chap.
icans lost not one man, lasted thirty-five minutes.
One hundred and sixty-two of the Hessians who
at sunrise were in Trenton escaped, about fifty to
Princeton, the rest to Bordentown; one hundred
and thirty were absent on command ; seventeen
were killed. All the rest of Rail's command, nine
hundred and forty-six in number, were taken
prisoners, of whom seventy-eight were wounded.
The Americans gained twelve hundred small-arms,
six brass field -pieces, of which two were tw^elve-
pounders, and all the standards of the brigade.
Until that hour, the life of the United States
flickered like a dying flame. "But the Lord of
hosts heard the cries of the distressed, and sent
an angel for their deliverance," wrote the prscses
of the Pennsylvania German Lutherans. " All our
hopes," said Lord George Germain, "were blasted
by the unhappy affair at Trenton." That victory
turned the shadow of death into the morninor.
CHAPTER XIV.
ASSANPINK AND PRINCETON.
December 26, 1776 — January, 1777
CHAP. Had the combination of Washingrton worked to-
XIV
t5
gether, he must have broken up the British posts
on the Delaware and at Princeton ; but by the
faihire of all the other parties, the fatigues of his
own were doubled, for they could find no safety
but in quickly recrossing the Delaware. Thus of
the five remaining days' service of most of his
troops, more than one half would be lost ; and
time was moreover given to the enemy to concen-
trate a superior force. But stern necessity was
imperative. After snatching refreshments from the
captured stores, the victorious troops, cumbered
with nearly a thousand prisoners, and worn out by
want of sleep and a night- march through snow
and rain, set off again under sleet driven by a
northeast wind, and passing another terrible night
at the ferry, recovered their position beyond the
river. Care and danger and hardship seemed tc
ASSANPINK AND PRINCETON. 237
nurse the health and fortitude of Washington ; but ctiap.
Stirhn"- and one half of the soldiers were disabled
by the exposure for forty hours in the worst of
weather, and two men were frozen to death.
The fugitive con<icress met at Baltimore in the
darkest gloom ; but Samuel Adams was there, fore-
most in hope and courage and influence, earnest
for a measure of which the success was to gladden
his soul. Up to this time congress had left on
their journals the suggestion, that a reunion with
Great Britain might be the consequence of a delay
in France to declare immediately and explicitly in
their favor. Before Washington crossed the Dela- 24-30c
ware, this temporizing policy was thrown aside ; and
before the victory at Trenton was known, it w^as
voted to "assure foreign courts, that the congress
and people of America are determined to maintain
their independence at all events." Treaties of
commerce were to be offered to Prussia, to Vienna,
and to Tuscany; and the intervention of these
powers was invoked, to prevent Russian or German
troops from serving against the United States. At
the same time a sketch w\as drawn for an offensive
alliance with France and Spain against Great Britain.
The independence which the nation pledged its 26
faith to other countries to maintain, could be se-
cured only through the army. On the twenty-sixth
of December, the urgent letters of Washington and
Greene were read in congress, and referred to
Richard Henry Lee, Wilson, and Samuel Adams;
the usual long debates and postponements were
dispensed with; and on the next day, "congress 27.
having maturely considered the present crisis, and
238 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, having perfect reliance on the wisdom, viffor, and
XI \. , •'O/
uprightness of General Washington/' resolved, that
in addition to the eighty-eight battalions to be fur-
nished by the separate states, he might himself, as
the general of the United States, raise, organize, and
. officer sixteen battaUons of infantry, three thousand
light horsemen, three regiments of artillery, and
a corps of engineers. Thus national troops, to be
enlisted indiscriminately from all the people of all
the states, were called into existence. The several
states, in organizing their regiments, had given com-
missions to many incompetent men ; Washington
was further authorized to displace and appoint all
officers under the rank of a brio-adier-o-eneral, and
to fill up all vacancies. He might also take neces-
saries for his army at an appraised value. These
extraordinary trusts were vested in him for six
months. The direct exercise of central power over
the country as one indivisible republic was so
novel, that he was said to have been appointed
" dictator of America." This Germain asserted in
the house of commons; this Stormont at Paris re-
peated to Vergennes. But the report was false ;^
congress granted only the permission to the gen-
eral to enlist and organize, if he could, a soHd
increase of what was then but the phantom of an
army. For the disaffected whom he received au-
thority to arrest, he was directed to account to
the states of which they were respectively citizens.
The financial measures of the crisis were, author-
* ity to the commissioners in France to borrow two
J Letters of John Adams to his Stormont to Weymouth, March 26,
Wife, i. 206. Germain and Barre, 1777.
in Almon's Debates, vii. 214, 216.
ASSANPINK AND PRINCETON. 239
millions sterling at six per cent, for ten years; chap.
vio-orous and speedy punishments for such as should
refuse to receive the continental currency ; and an
order, that " five millions of dollars be now emitted
on the faith of the United States." Till the bills
could be executed, Washington was left penniless
even of paper money.
An hour before noon on the tw^enty- seventh,
Cadwalader at Bristol heard of Washington at
Trenton, and took measures to cross into New Jer-
sey. Hitchcock's remnant of a New England bri-
gade could not move for want of shoes, stockings,
and breeches ; but these were promptly supplied
from Philadelphia. Meantime Keed, who, under
equal conditions, preferred the cause of America,
and in the success at Trenton found relief from his
moods of selfish despondency, reappeared in Bris-
tol, never afterwards doubting to which side he
should adhere ; and in the days Avhich followed, " he
evidenced a spirit and zeal, which," to Washington,
" appeared laudable and becoming." ^ By his advice
the detachment under Cadwalader moved to Bur-
lington, where they found no enemy ; Donop, on
hearing of the defeat of Rail, had precipitately
retreated w^ith all his force by way of Crosswicks
and Allentown to Princeton, abandoning his stores
and his sick and w^ounded at Bordentowm.
Washington lost no 'time in renewing his scheme
for driving the enemy to the extremity of New
Jersey ; and on the twenty-seventh he communicated
his intention to Cadwalader. While his companions
in arms were reposing, he was indefatigable in his
1 Washington to Reed, September 15, 1782.
240 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
ciiAP preparations. Intending to remain on the east side
of the Delaware, he selected Morristown ^ as a place
of refuge, and wrote urgent letters to Macdougall
and Maxwell to collect forces at that point ; for,
said he, " if tlie militia of Jersey will lend a hand,
I hope and expect to rescue their country." To
Heath, who was receiving large reenforcements from
New England, he sent orders to render aid by way
of Hackensack. Through Lord Stirling he en-
treated the governor of New Jersey to convene
the legislature of that state, and conform the ap-
pointments of their officers to merit. lie took
thought for the subsistence of the troops, which,
when they should all be assembled, would form a
respectable force. To cross the river was to rush
into incalculable perils ; not to cross the river would
be a ruinous confession of weakness. On the
29 twenty-ninth, while his army, reduced nearly one
half in effective numbers by fatigue in the late
attack on Trenton, was crossing the Delaware, he
announced to congress his purpose "to pursue the
enemy and try to beat up their quarters." On the
80. thirtieth he repaired to Trenton; but the whole of
his troops and artillery, impeded by ice, did not
get over till the last day of the year.
That day the term of enlistment of the eastern
regiments came to an end ; to these veterans the
same conditions as Pennsylv<lnia allowed to her un-
disciplined volunteers were offered, if they would
remain six wrecks longer ; and with one voice they
instantly gave their word to do so, making no stip-
"1 Washinjrton to Heath. Decern- " at Morristown, . . . till they are
ber 28, 1776, in Force, iii. 1462: joined by our regular troops."
ASSANPINK AND PRINCETON. 241
ulations of their own.^ The paymaster was out of crap.
money, and the public credit was exhausted by
frequent vain promises ; Washington pledged his
own fortune, as did other officers, especially Stark
of New Hampshire. Robert Morris had already
sent up a little more than five hundred dollars in
hard money, to aid in procuring intelligence ; again
Washington appealed to him with the utmost ear-
nestness : " If it be possible, sir, to give us assist-
ance, do it ; borrow money while it can be done ;
we are doing it upon our private credit. Every
man of interest, every lover of his country, must
strain his credit upon such an occasion. No time,
my dear sir, is to be lost."
At Quebec the last day of December was kept 51
as a general thanksgiving for the deliverance of
Canada ; the Te Deimi was chanted ; in the even-
ing the provincial militia gave a grand ball, and
{IS Carleton entered, the crowded assembly broke
out into loud cheers, followed by a song in English
to his praise. He drank in the strain of triumph,
not dreaming that the British secretary of state
had already issued orders for his disgrace.
After dismay and uncertain councils, Cornwallis,
who had been prematurely crowned with the hon-
ors of victory, delayed his embarkation for Europe,
and took command of the large forces collected at
Princeton. At that hour, when the most urgent
political and military reasons demanded the utmost
energy and activity, that the British army might
* (jonlon, ii. 398, writes: "Near essential service. Nor were they
one half went oft' before the critical more in haste to leave Morristown,
moment." This is not correct. The than the voiuntt'crs who were under
critital days were Jan. 1, 2, 3, in the like engagements,
which they all rendered the most
VOL. IX. 21
242 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, efface the catastrophe at Trenton, and reocciipy the
posts on the Delaware by a force of unquestion-
able superiority, the sluggish Sir William Howe
nestled lazily in his warm quarters at New York ;
and there he remained in comfortable indolence for
nearly six months to come.
177 7. Very early on New-Year's morning, Robert Mor-
j • ris went from house to house in Philadelphia,,
rousing people from their beds to borrow money;
and early in the day he sent Washington fifty
thousand dollars, with the message: "Whatever I
can do, shall be done for the good of the service ;
if further occasional supplies of money are neces-
sary, you may depend upon my exertions either
in a public or private capacity." To the president
and to the committee of congress, Washington thus
acknowledged the grant of unusual military power :
" All my faculties shall be employed to advance
those objects, and only those, which gave rise to
this distinction. If my exertions should not be
attended with success, I trust the failure will be
imputed to the difficulties I have to combat, rather
than to a want of zeal for my country and the
closest attention to her interest." " Instead of think-
ing myself freed from all civil obligations by this
mark of confidence, I shall constantly bear in
mind, that as the sword was the last resort for the
preservation of our liberties, so it ought to be laid
aside when those liberties are firmly established. I
shall instantly set about making the most necessa-
ry reforms in the army." This he wrote on New-
Y'ear's day, from Trenton, where he w^as attended
by scarcely more than six hundred trusty men. He
ASSANPINK AND PRINCETON. 243
had timely knowledge that fall seven thousand chap.
veteran troops, including the reserve, other English « — r-^
regiments, Donop's brigade of Hessian grenadiers *jJJ'
and Waldeckers, a small battalion formed of the i.
remnants of Rail's brigade, Kohler's battalion fresh
from IS'ew York with its heavy artillery, eight
hundred Highlanders, and a regiment of light
dragoons, were moving against him. He had ample
time to pass beyond the Delaware; but he would
not abandon New Jersey, which he was set to re-
deem : he might have found safety by joining Cad-
walader whose force of eighteen hundred men
held the strong post of Crosswicks, or Mifflin
who had returned from his recruiting mission and
was at Bordentown with eighteen hundred volun-
teers ; but such a retreat would have stifled the
new life of the country. In the choice of meas-
ures, all full of peril, he resolved to concentrate
his forces at Trenton, and await the enemy. Obe-
dient to his call, they joined him in part on the
first of January, in part, after a night-march, on
the second ; making collectively an army of forty- %
eight hundred or five thousand men ; but of these
three fiflhs or more were merchants, mechanics,
and farmers, ignorant of war, and just from their
families and warm houses, who had rushed to arms
in midwinter, inspired by hope and zeal to defy
* all perils and encounter battles by day and marches
by night, with no bed but the frozen ground
under the open sky.
Leaving three regiments and a company of cav-
alry at Princeton, where Donop had thrown up
arrow-headed earthworks, Cornwallis on the second
244: AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, led the flower of the British army to encounter
' — Y — • Washington. Donop ^ advised him to march in two
Jan * divisions, SO as to hold the direct and the round-
2. about road between Princeton and Trenton ; but he
refused to separate his forces. The air was warm
and moist, the road soft, so thjit their march was
slow. They were delayed at Maidenhead by skir-
mishers. One brigade under Leslie remained at
that place ; while Corn wall is pressed forward with
more than five thousand British and Hessians.
At Five Mile run he fell upon Hand with his
riflemen, who continued to dispute every step of
his progress. At Shabbakong creek, the annoy-
ance from troops secreted within the wood on the
flanks of the road embarrassed him for two hours.
On the hill less than a mile above Trenton, he
was confronted by about six hundred musketeers
and two skilfully managed field-pieces, supported
^ by a detachment under Greene. This party, when
attacked by the artillery of Cornwallis, withdrew
in good order. Each side met with losses during
the day ; of the killed and wounded no trustworthy
enumeration has been found. The British captured
a faithless colonel of foreign birth, and probably
some privates; the Americans took thirty prisoners.
At four in the afternoon, Washington, placing
himself with the rear, conducted the retreat through
the town, and passed the bridge over the Assanpink, '
beyond which the main body of his army stood in
admirable array, silent in their ranks, protected by
batteries. The enemy, as they pursued, were wor-
1 Ewald's Beyspiele grosser Hel- he relates of Donop's advice, he
den. Ewald was an excellent olfi- had from Donop. " Oberst Donop
cer in the corps of yagers. What hat mich versichert," &c. &c.
ASSANPINK AND TRINCETON. 245
ried by musketry from houses and barns ; their chap.
attempt to force the bridge was repulsed. Corn-
walUs next sought to turn the flanks of the Ameri-
cans ; but the fords ofv the Assanpink could not be
crossed without a battle. The moment was critical.
The defeat of Washington might have crushed in-
dependence ; the overthrow of the British army
would have raised all New Jersey in their rear,
and have almost ended the war. Late as it was in
the day, Simcoe advised at once to pass over the As-
sanpink to the right of " the rebels," and bring on a
general action ; and Sir William Erskine feared that
if it were put off, Washington might get away be-
fore morning. But the sun was nearly down ; the
night threatened to be foggy and dark ; the Brit-
ish troops were w^orn out with skirmishes and a
long march over deep roads ; the aspect of the
American army w^as imposing. Cornwallis, unwill-
ing to take any needless risk, sent messengers in
all haste for the brigade at Maidenhead, and for two
of the three regiments at Princeton, and put off
the fight till the next morning. The British army,
sleeping by their fires, bivouacked on the hill above
Trenton, wiiile their large pickets w-ere pushed
forward along the Assanpink, to keep a close
watch on the army of Washington. Confident in
their vigilance, the general officers, " who all did
wilfully expect the silver-threaded morn," thought
their day's work done, and took their repose.
Not so Washington ; for him there could be no
rest. From his retreat through the Jerseys, and
his long halt in the first week of December at
Trenton, he knew the by-ways leading out of the
21 •
246 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
<^AP. place, and the cross-cuts and roads as far as Bruns-
wick. He first ascertained by an exploring party
that the path to Princeton on the south side of
the Assanpink was unguarded.' He saw the need
of avoiding a battle the next morning with Corn-
wallis; he also saw the need of avoiding it in a
way to mark courage and hope. He knew that
there were but few troops at Princeton ; and he
reasoned that Brunswick could have retained but
a very small guard for its rich magazines. He
therefore developed the plan which had existed in
germ from the time of his deciding to reenter New
Jersey, and prepared to turn the left of Cornwallis,
overwhelm the party at Princeton, and push on if
possible to Brunswick, or, if there were danger
of pursuit, to seek the high ground at Morristown.
Soon after dark he ordered all the baggage of his
army to be removed noiselessly to Burlington. To
the council of officers whom he convened, he pro-
posed the circuitous march to Princeton. Mercer
forcibly pointed out the advantages of the proposal ;
Saint Clair liked it so well, that in the failing
memory of old age he took it to have been his
own;^ the adhesion of the council was unanimous.
1 EwalfVs Boyspiele grosser Hel- 2 Saint Clair's NaiTative, 242,
den. Ewald, who was a man of up- • 243: "No one jreneral officer ex-
ri<£htness, vi<rilance, and judirment, cept myself knew anythinfr of the
is a great authority, as he was pres- upper country." Now, Sullivan
ent. It does not impair the value knew it better; as did all the offi-
of his statement, that, like many writ- cers of Lee's division, and Stark,
ers of the British army of that day, Poor, Patterson, the New England
he misplaced Allentown. Many of- Reed, and all the officers of theii
ficers thought it lay on the round- four regiments. Another writer,
about road to Princeton, and were Reed's Mercer Oration, 34, 35, is
driven from the country too soon out of the way in the advice he
to rectify their mistake. Compare attributes to Mercer : *' One course
Howe to Germain, Jan. 5, 1777; An- had not yet been thought of, and
nual Register, 18 ; Stedman, i. 236. this was to order up the Philadel-
ASSANPINK AND PRINCETON. 247
Soon after midnight, sending word to Putnam to chap.
occupy Crosswicks, Waslungton began to move his
troops in detachments by the roundabout road to
Princeton. The wind veered to the northwest ;
the weather suddenly became cold ; and the by-
road, lately impracticable for artillery, was soon
frozen hard. To conceal the movement, guards
were left to replenish the American camp-fires.
The night had as yet* no light in tiie unmeasured
firmament but the stars as they sparkled through
the openings in the clouds; the fires of the British
blazed round the hills on which they slumbered ;
the beaming fires of the Americans rose in a wall
of flame along the Assanpink for more than half a
mile, impervious to the eye, throwing a glare on
the town, the rivulet, the tree -tops, the river, and
the background. The drowsy British officer^ who
had charge of the night-watch let the flames blaze
up and subside under fresh heaps of fuel, and saw
nothino; and surmised nothin«:.
Arriving about sunrise in the southeast outskirts
of Princeton, Washington and the main body of the
army wheeled to the right by a back road to the
colleges; while Mercer was detached towards the
west with about three hundred and fifty men, to
break down the bridge over Stony brook, on the
main road to Trenton. Two English regiments
phia militia," &c. &c. Washinnton noitre the roundabout roadis in har-
had long before ordered up the Phil- mony with this. Marshall, i. 1 31 , as-
adelphia militia, and they wer^e at signs the bold design to Washington;
Trenton on the fii-st of January. so do Gordon, Ramsay, Hull, who
Sparks's Washington, iv. 258. Wash- had a special ooniniand, atul I be-
ington, always modest, claims the lieveevery one till Saint Clair, whom
measure as his own. Ibid. 259. Wilkinson followed.
The statement in Ewald of Wash- 1 Ewald's Abhandlung von dem
ington's having sent a party to recon- Dienst der leichten Truppen, 121.
248 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, were already on their inarch to join Cornwallis;
the seventeenth with three companies of horse,
under Mawhood, was more than a mile in advance
of the fifty-fifth, and had already passed Stony
brook. On discovering in his rear a small body
of Americans, apparently not larger than his own,
he recrossed the rivulet, and forming a junction
with a part of the fifty-fifth and other detachments
on their march, hazarded an engagement with
Mercer. The parties were nearly equal in num-
bers ; each had two pieces of artillery ; but the
English were fresh, while the Americans were
weary from hunger and cold, the fatigues of the
preceding day, their long night-march of eighteen
miles, and the want of sleep. Both parties rushed
toward the high ground that lay north of them, on
the right of the Americans. A heavy discharge
from the English artillery was returned by Neal
from the American field-pieces. After a short but
brisk cannonade, the Americans, climbing over a
fence to confront the British, were the first to use
their guns ; Mawhood's infantry returned the volley,
and soon charged with their bayonets ; the Amer-
icans, for the most part riflemen without bayonets,
gave way, abandoning their cannon. Their gallant
officers, loath to fly, were left in their rear,
endeavoring to call back the fugitives. In this
way fell Haslet, the brave colonel of the Delaware
regiment; Neal, who had charge of the artillery;
Fleming, the gallant leader of all that was left of
the first Virginia regiment; and other officers of
promise ; Mercer himself, whose horse had been dis-
abled under him, was wounded, knocked down, and
ASSANPINK AND PRINCETON. 249
then stabbed many times with the bayonet. Just chap.
then, Washington, who had turned- at the sound
of the cannon, came upon the ground hy a
movement which intercepted the main body of the
British fifty-fifth regiment. The Pennsylvania mili-
tia, supported by two pieces of artillery, were the
first to form their line. "With admirable coolness
and address," Mawhood attempted to carry their
battery ; the way-worn novices began to waver ; on
the instant, Washington, from "his desire to ani-
mate his troops by example," rode into the very
front of danger, and when within less than thirty
yards of the British, he reined in his horse with
its head towards them, as both parties were about
to fire : seemin^; to ' tell his falterino; forces that
they must stand firm, or leave him to confront
the enemy alone. The two sides gave a volley at
the same moment; when the smoke cleared away,
it was thousrht a miracle that Washino-ton was un-
touched. By this time Hitchcock, for whom a ra-
ging hectic made this day nearly his last, came up
with his brigade ; and Hand's riflemen began to
turn the left of the English; these, after repeated
exertions of the greatest courage and discipline,
retreated before they were wholly surrounded, and
fled over fields and fences up Stony brook. The
action, from the first conflict with Mercer, did not
last more than twenty minutes. Washington on
the battle-ground took Hitchcock by the hand, and,
before his army, thanked him for his service.
Mawhood left on the ground two brass field-
pieces, which, from want of horses, the Americans
could not carry off. He was chased three or four
250 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, miles, and many of his men were taken prisoners;
the rest joined Leslie when his brigade came up
from Maidenhead.
While the larger part of the army was engaged
with the troops under Mawhood, the New England
regiments of Stark, Poor, Patterson, Reed, and others,
drove back the fifty-fifth, which, after a gallant re-
sistance and some loss, retreated with the fortieth
to the college. Pieces of artillery were brought
up to play upon them ; but to escape certain
capture they fled in disorder across the fields into
a back road towards Brunswick. Had there been
cavalry to pursue, they might nearly all have been
taken.
The British lost on that day about two hundred
killed and wounded, and two hundred and thirty
prisoners, of whom fourteen were British officers.
The American loss was small, except of officers;
but Mercer, who was mortally wounded, stood in
merit next to Greene, and by his education, abili-
ties, willing disposition, and love for his adopted
country, was fitted for high trusts.
At Trenton, on the return of day, the generals
were astonished at not seeing the American army;
and the noise of the cannon at Princeton first
revealed whither it was gone. In consternation for
the safety of the magazines at Brunswick, Corn-
wallis roused his army, and began a swift pursuit.
His advanced party from Maidenhead reached
Princeton, just as the town was left by the Amer-
ican rear. It had been a part of Washington's
original plan to seize Brunswick, which was eighteen
miles distant; but many of his brave soldiers, such
ASSANPINK AND PRINCETON. 251
is tlie concurrent testimony of English and German chap.
officers as well as of Washington, were " quite ^ — ^-^
barefoot, and were badly clad in other respects;" *jj^*
all were exhausted by the unabated service and 3.
fatigue of two days and a night, from action to
action, without shelter, and almost without refresh-
ment ; and the British were close upon their rear.
So with the advice of his officers, after breaking
up the bridge at Kingston over the Millstone
river, Washington turned towards the highlands,
and halted for the night at Somerset court-house.
There, in the woods, worn-out men sank down on
the bare, frozen ground, and fell asleep without
regard to the cold ; an easy prey, had Cornwallis
had the spirit to pursue them.
The example and the orders of Washington
roused the people around him to arms, and struck
terror into all detached parties of the British. On
the fifth, the day* of his arrival at Morristown, a 5.
party of Waldeckers, attacked at Springfield by an
equal number of the New Jersey militia under
Oliver Spencer, were put to flight with a loss of
forty-eight, of whom thirty-nine were left as
prisoners. In the afternoon of the same day, as
George Clinton with troops from .Peekskill was
approaching Ilackensack, the British force with-
drew from the place, saving their baggage by a
timely flight. Newark was abandoned ; Elizabeth-
town \vas surprised by General Maxwell, who took
much baggage and a hundred prisoners.
The eighteenth, which was the king's birthday, 18l
was chosen for investing Sir William Howe with
the order of the Bath. The ceremony was shorn
252 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, of its glory, for it was a mockery to call him
< — ^f — ' now a victorious general ; and both he and the
j^^ * secretary of state already had a foresight of future
18. failure, for which each of them was preparing to
throw the blame on the other. In the midst of
the rejoicings, news came that Heath had brought
down a party of four thousand New York and
New England militia to the neighborhood of
Kingsbridge, and with foolish bombast had sum-
moned Fort Independence. The British laughed at
his idle and farcical threats, which he made no
attempt to fulfil ; his coming did not even disturb
the fireworks and the feast in the city ; and he
soon afterwards made a hastv and timid retreat
before the shadow of danger. He, as indeed more
than half the American major-generals, was thought
unw^orthy of his high command.
But in New Jersey, all continued to go well.
20. On the twentieth. General Philemon Dickinson,
with about four hundred raw troops, forded the
Millstone river, near Somerset court-house, and de-
feated a foraging party, taking a few prisoners,
forty wagons, and sheep and cattle, and upwards
of a hundred horses of the English draught breed.
New Jersey was nearly free ; the British held only
Brunswick and Amboy and Paulus-hook. Washing-
ton made his head-quarters at Morristown ; and in
that town and the surrounding villages, his troops
found shelter ; the largest encampment was in
Spring valley on the southern slope of Madison
hill ; his outposts extended to within three miles
of Amboy ; and weak as was his army, the w^oods,
the hills, and the rivers formed a barrier against
ASSANPINK AND PRINCETON. 253
an attack in winter, thoiio-h Howe recalled more chap.
. . XIV.
than a brigade of British troops from Rhode Is- v^^^-^
land. '"^-
♦Jan.
Under the last proclamation of the brothers, two 20.
thousand seven hundred and three Jersey men, be-
sides eight hundred and fifty one in Rhode Island,
and twelve hundred and eighty-two in the rural
districts and city of New York, subscribed a decla-
ration of fidelity to the British king; on the four-
teenth of January, just as its limited period was
about to expire, Germain, w^ho grudged every act
of mercy, sent orders to the Howes, not to let
"the undeserving escape that punishment which is
due to their crimes, and which it will be expe-
dient to inflict for the sake of example to futuri-
ty." Eleven days after the date of this unrelent- 25.
ing order, Washington, the harbinger and champion
of union, was in a condition to demand, by a proc-
lamation in the name of the United States, that
those who had accepted British protections " should
withdraw within the enemy's lines, or take the
oath of allegiance to the United States of Amer-
ica." On the promulgation of this order the civil
difficulty from a conflict of sovereignties was felt
anew, and Clark, a member of congress from New
Jersey, interposed the cavil, that " an oath of alle-
giance to the United States was absurd before
confederation." Washington, from the moment of
the declaration of independence, acted persistently
for one common country embracing all the inde-
pendent states ; but congress and the people were
so fiir behind him, that it fell to each state to out-
law those of its inhabitants who refused allegiance
VOL. IX. 22
254 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
cnAP. to its single .self, as if the Virginian owed fealty
' — ^ — ' only to Virginia, the Jerseyman only to New Jersey
ITT'/ •
j^^ ' The results of the campaign were inauspicious
for the British. Their indiscriminate rapacity,
which spared neither friend nor foe, the terrible
excesses of their lust, the unrestrained passion for
destruction, changed the people of New Jersey
from spectators of the war, so supine that not
more than a hundred of them had joined Wash-
ington in his retreat, to active partisans, animated
by the zeal and courage which exasperation at
personal injuries, the love of liberty and property,
the regard for the sanctity of home, and the im-
pulse to avenge wrong, could inspire.
New England except the island of Rhode Island,
all central, northern, and western New York except
Fort Niagara, all the country from the Delaware to
Florida, were free from the invaders, who had ac-
quired only the islands that touched New York
harbor, and a few adjacent outposts, of which
Brunswick and the hills round Kingsbridge were
the most remote. For future operations they had
against them the vast extent of the coast, and
the forest, which was ever recurring between the
settlements. Whenever they passed beyond their
straitened quarters, they were exposed to surprises,
skirmishes, and hardships. They were wasted by
incessant alanns and unremitting labor; their for-
age and provisions were purchased at the price
of blood.
The contemporary British historians of the war
have not withheld praise from Washington's mas-
terly conduct and daring enterprise. His own army
AS«ANPINK AND PRINCETON. 255
loved their general, and had nothing against him cttap.
hut the little care he took of himself while in w-y-^
action. Cooper of Boston is the witness, that "the ^'^'^'^'
confidence of the people everywhere in him was
heyond example." In congress, which had already
much degenerated, and had become distracted by
selfish schemers, there were signs of impatience at
his superiority, and an obstinate reluctance to own
that the depressed condition of the country was
due to their having refused to heed his advice.
To a proposition for giving him power to name
generals, John Adams objected vehemently, say
ing : ^*In private life T am willing to respect and
look up to him ; in this house I feel myself to
be the superior of General Washington." The tem-
per of the body is best seen by their resolves of
the twenty- fourth of February, when they voted
to Washington mere " ideal reenforcements," and
then, after an earnest debate, in wdiich some of the
New England delegates and one from New Jersey
showed a willingness to insult him, they expressed
their " earnest desire " that he Avould " not only
curb and confine the enemy within their present
quarters, but, by the divine blessing, totally subdue
them before they could be reenforced." Well
might Washington reply : " What hope can there
be of my effecting so desirable a work at this
time ? The whole of our numbers in New Jersey
fit for duty is under three thousand." The absurd
paragraph was carried by a bare majority, in which
Kichard Henry Lee brought up Virginia to the side
of the four Eastern states, against the two Caro-
linas, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
256 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. There were not wanting members who pene-
^Y^ trated the nature of the contest and were just to
^'^'*'^* the worth of Washington. "He is the greatest
man on earth," wrote Robert Morris from Philadel-
phia, on the first of February. From Baltimore,
William Hooper, the representative from North
Carolina, thus echoed back his words: "Will pos-
terity believe the tale? When it shall be consistent
with policy to give the history of that man from
his first introduction into our service, how often
America has been rescued from ruin by the mere
strength of his genius, conduct, and courage, en-
countering every obstacle that want of money,
men, arms, ammunition, could throw in his way, an
impartial world will say with you that he is the
greatest man on earth. Misfortunes are the ele-
ment in which he shines; they are the ground-
work on which his picture appears to the greatest
advantage. He rises superior to them all; they
serve as foils to his fortitude and as stimulants to
bring into view those great qualities which his
modesty keeps concealed. I could fill the side in
his praise; but anything I can say cannot equal
his merits."
CHAPTER XV.
THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SEVERAL STATES OF
AJVIERICA.
1776—1783.
Had the decision of the war hung on armies chap.
Jv V •
alone, America might not have gained the victory ; ' — r-*
but the contest involved the introduction into
political life of ideas which had long been hovering
in the atmosphere of humanity, and which the
civilized world assisted to call into action. The law
of continuity was unbroken. The spirit of the age
moved the young nation to own justice as antece-
dent and superior to the state, and to found the
rights of the citizen on the rights of man. And yet,
in regenerating its institutions it was not guided
by any speculative theory, or laborious application
of metaphysical distinctions. Its form of govern-
ment grew naturally out of its traditions by the sim-
ple rejection of all personal hereditary authority,
which in America had never had much more than
a representative existence. Its people were indus-
trious and frugal; accustomed to the cry of liberty
22*
258
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, and property, they harbored no dream of a com-
v^Y^ munity of goods; and their love of equality never
17T6. (Regenerated into envy of the rich. No successors
of the fifth-monarchy men proposed to substitute'
an unwritten higher law, interpreted by individual
conscience, for the law of the land and the decrees
of human tribunals. The people proceeded with
self-possession and moderation, after the manner of
their ancestors. Their large inheritance of English
liberties saved them frorti the necessity find from the
wish to uproot their old political institutions ; and as
happily the scaffold was not wet with the blood of
their statesmen, there was no root of a desperate
hatred of England, such as the Netherlands kept
up for centuries against Spain. The wrongs in-
flicted or attempted by the British king were felt
to have been avenged by independence ; respect
and affection remained behind for the parent land,
from which the United States had derived trial by
jury, the writ for personal liberty, the practice of
representative government, and the separation of
the three great coordinate powers in the state.
From an essentially aristocratic model America
took just what suited her condition, and rejected
the rest. Thus the transition of the colonies into
self-existent commonwealths was free from vindictive
bitterness, and attended by no violent or wide
departure from the past.
In all the states it was held that sovereignty re-
sides in the people ; that the majesty of supreme
command belongs of right to its collective intelli-
gence ; that royalty is the attribute of its reason ;
that government is to be originated by its im-
THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SEVERAL STATES. 259
pulse, organized by its consent, and conducted by chap.
its embodied will ; that it alone possesses the living w^^-^
energy out of which all powers flow forth, and to ^'^'''^**
which they all return ; that it is the sole legitimate
master, to name, directly or indirectly, every one
of the officers in the state, and bind them as its
servants to work only for its good.
The American people went to their great work
of building up the home of humanity without mis-
giving. They were confident that the judgment
of the sum of the individual members of the com-
munity was the safest criterion of truth in public
affairs. They harbored no fear that the voice even
of a wayward majority would be more capricious
or more fallible than the good pleasure of an hered-
itary monarch ; and, unappalled by the skepticism
of European kings, they proceeded to extend self-
government over regions which, in all previous ages,
had been esteemed too vast for republican rule.
They were conscious of long and varied experience
in representative forms ; and of all the nations
on earth they were foremost in the principles and
exercise of popular power. The giant forms of
monarchies on their way to ruin cast over the
world their fearful shadows ; it was time to con-
struct states in the light of truth and freedom, on
the basis of inherent, inalienable right.
England was "a land of liberty;" this is her
glory among the nations. It is because she nurtured
her colonies in freedom, that, even in the midst of
civil war, they cherished her name with affection;
it is because her example proved that the imper-
ishable principles of mental and civil freedom can
260 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, form the life of government, that she has endeared
' — ^-^ herself forever to the human race.
Of the American statesmen who assisted to frame
the new government, not one had been originally
a republican. They had been as it were seized by
the godlike spirit of freedom, and compelled to ad-
vance its banner. But if the necessity of construct-
ing purely popular institutions came upon them
unexpectedly, the ages had prepared for them the
plans for their task, and the materials with which
they were to build.
The recommendations to form governments pro-
ceeded from the general congress; the work was
done by the several states, in the full enjoy-
ment of self-direction. South Carolina and Massa-
chusetts each claimed to be of right a free, sov-
ereign, and independent state ; each bound its
officers by oath to bear to it true allegiance, and
to maintain its freedom and independence.
Massachusetts, which was the first state to con-
duct a government independent of the king, fol-
lowing the resolution of congress, deviated as lit-
tle as possible from the letter of its charter; and,
assuming that the place of governor was vacant
from the nineteenth of July, 1775, it recognised
the council as the legal successor to executive
power. On the first day of May, 1776, in all com-
missions and legal processes, it substituted the name
of its "government and people" for that of the
ITT 7 king. In June, 1777, its legislature thought itself
warranted by instructions to prepare a constitution ;
but on a reference to the people, the act was dis-
avowed. In September, 1779, a convention which
THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SEVERAL STATES. 261
the people had authorized framed a constitution, chap.
It was in a o;ood measure the compilation of John ^^-r^
Adams, who was guided by the English constitu-
tion, by the bill of rights of Virginia, and by the
experience of Massachusetts herself; and this con- i7 8o.
stitution, having been approved by the people,
went into effect in 1780.
On the fifth of January, 1776, New Hampshire 17 7 6.
formed a government with the fewest possible
changes from its colonial forms, like Massachusetts
merging the executive power in the council. Not
till June, 1783, did its convention form a more 17 8 3»
perfect instrument, which was approved by the
people, and established on the thirty-first of the
following October.
The provisional constitution of South Carolina 1776.
dates from the twenty-sixth of March, 1776. In
March, 1778, a permanent constitution was estab- 177 8.
lished by a simple act of the legislature, without
any consultation of the people.
Khode Island enjoyed under its charter a form 177 a.
of government so thoroughly republican, that in-
dependence of monarchy in May, 1776, required no
change beyond a renunciation of the king's name
in the style of its public acts. A disfranchisement
of Catholics had stolen into its book of law^s ; but
so soon as it was noticed, the clause was expunged.
In like manner, Connecticut had only to substitute
the people of the colony for the name of the king ;
this was done provisionally on the fourteenth of
June, 1776, and made perpetual on the tenth of the
following October.
Before the end of June of the same year we saw
^^^ AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP.
XV.
1TT6.
Virginia, sixth in the series, first in the completeness
of her work, come forth with her bill of rights, her
de/:laration of independence, and her constitution,
adopted at once by her legislative convention with-
out any further consultation of the people.
On the second of July, 1776, New Jersey per-
fected its new, self-created charter.
Delaware next proclaimed its bill of rights, and
on the twentieth of September, 1776, finished its
constitution, the representatives in convention hav-
ing been chosen by the freemen of the state for
that very purpose.
The Pennsylvania convention adopted its consti-
tution on the twenty-eighth of September, 1776; but
the opposition which it received alike from the
Quakers, whom it indirectly disfranchised, and from
a large body of patriots, delayed its thorough organ-
ization for more than five months.
The delegates of Maryland, meeting on the four-
teenth of August, 1776, framed its constitution with
great deliberation, and it was established on the
ninth of the following November.
On the eighteenth of December, 1776, the consti-
tution of North Carohna was openly ratified in
the congress by which it had been framed.
17T7. On the fifth of February, 1777, Georgia, the
twelfth state, perfected its organic law by the
unanimous agreement of its convention.
Last of the thirteen came New York, whose
empowered convention, on the twentieth of April,
1777, established a constitution, that, in the largeness
of its humane liberality, excelled them all.
'In elective governments which sprung from the
THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SEVERAL STATES. 263
recot^nition of the freedom of the individual, every ^^v^'
man mio;ht consistently claim the right of contrib- ^ — v — -
• • • 1T7C-
uting by his own reason his proportionate share of ns3,
influence in forming the collective reason which
was to rule the state. Such was the theory ; in
practice, no jealous inquiry was raised respecting
those who should actually participate in this sov-
ereignty. The privilege of the suffrage had been
far more widely extended in the colonies than in
England ; in most of the thirteen states, no discon-
tent broke out at existing restrictions, and no dis-
position was manifested to depart from them ab-
ruptly by an immediate equalization of the primary
political functions. The principle of the revolution
involved an indefinite enlargement of the number
of the electors, which could have no other term than '^
universal suffrage ; but, by general consent, the
consideration of the subject was postponed. The
age of twenty-one was universally required as a
qualification. So, too, was residence, except that
in Virginia and South Carolina it was enough to
own in the district or town a certain freehold or
" lot." South Carolina required of the electors to
"acknowledge the being of a God, and to believe
in a future state of rewards and punishments."
White men alone could claim the franchise in Vir-
ginia, in South Carolina, and in Georgia; but in
South Carolina a benign interpretation of the law
classed the free octaroon as a white, even though
descended through an unbroken line of mothers
from an imported African slave ; the other ten
states raised no question of color. In Pennsyl-
vania, in New Hampshire, and partially in North
264 AJMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. Carolina, the right to vote belonged to every resi-
^->^ dent tax-payer; in Georgia, to any white inhab-
Jijggj" itant ^^ being of any mechanic trade;" with this
exception, Georgia and all the other colonies re-
quired the possession of a freehold, or of prop-
erty variously valued, in Massachusetts at about
two hundred dollars, in Georgia at ten pounds.
But similar conditions had always existed, with the
concurrence or by the act of the colonists them-
selves ; so that the people felt no sense of a
wrongful innovation, and the harmony of the state
was not troubled.
Maryland prescribed as its rule, that votes should
be given by word of mouth; Virginia and New
Jersey made no change in their former usage ; Rhode
Island had a way of its own, analogous to its char-
ter : each freeman was in theory expected to be
present in the general court; he therefore gave his
proxy to the representative, which was done by
writing his name on the back of his vote ; all others
adopted the ballot. New York at the end of the
war, the other eight without delay.
The first great want common to all was a house
of representatives, so near the people as to be the
image of their thoughts and wishes, so numerous
as to appear to every individual voter as his direct
counterpart, so frequently renewed as to insure
swift responsibility. Such a body every one of the
British colonies had enjoyed. They now gained an
absolute certainty as to the times of meeting of the
assemblies, an unalterable precision in the periods
of election, and in some states a juster distribution
of representation. In theory, the houses of legis-
THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SEVERAL STATES. 265
lation should everywhere have been in proper- chap.
tion to numbers; and for this end a census was to — y^ — '
be taken at fixed times in Pennsylvania and New u^^'
York ; but in most of the states old inequalities
were continued, and even new ones introduced.
In New England, the several towns had from the
first enjoyed the privilege of representation, and
from a love of equality this custom was retained ;
in Virginia, the counties and boroughs in the low
country, where the aristocracy founded in land and
slaves had its seat, secured an undue share of th(3
members of the assembly ; the planters of Maryland,
jealous of the growing weight of Baltimore, set an
arbitrary and most unequal limit to the repre-
sentation of that city ; in South Carolina, for seven
years Charleston was allowed to send thirty members,
and the parishes near the sea took almost a mo-
nopoly of political power; after that period, repre-
sentatives were to be proportioned according to
the number of white inhabitants and to the taxa-
ble property in the several districts. In South Caro-
olina the assembly was chosen for two years ; every-
where else for but one. To the assembly was
reserved the power of originating taxes. In Geor-
gia, the delegates to the continental congress had
a right to sit, debate, and vote in its house of as-
sembly, of which they were deemed to be a part.
Franklin would have one legislative body, and no
more ; he approved the decision of the framers of the
constitution of Pennsylvania to repose all legislative
power in an uncontrolled assembly. This precedent
was followed in Georgia. From all the experience of
former republics, John Adams argued for a legisla-
vol.. IX. ^ 23
266 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, tare with two branches. But the Americans of that
Jv. V •
'^ — ' day neither listened to the theories of Franklin, nor
iTSs!^ to the lessons from history of John Adams; finding
themselves accustomed almost from the beg-innino:
to a double legislative body, eleven of the thirteen
states adhered to the ancient usage. In construct-
ing the coordinate branch of the legislature, they
sought to impart greater weight to their system and
to secure its conservation. This branch, whether
called a senate, or legislative council, or board of
assistants, was less numerous than the house of rep-
resentatives. In the permanent constitutions of Mas-
sachusetts and New Hampshire, the proportion of
public taxes paid by a district w^as regarded in the
assignment of its senatorial number; in New York
and North Carolina, the senate was elected by a
narrower constituency than the assembly. In six of
the eleven states the senate was chosen annually ;
but the period of service in South Carolina embraced
two years, in Delaware three, in New York and
Virginia four, in Maryland five. To increase the
dignity and fixedness of the body, Virginia, New
York, and Delaware gave it permanence by renew-
ing, the first two one fourth, Delaware one third,
of its members annually. Maryland, which of all
the states showed the strongest desire to preserve
political importance to the large proprietors of land,
prescribed a double election for its senate. Once in
five years the several counties, the city of Annap-
olis, and Baltimore town, chose, viva voce, their
respective delegates to an electoral body, each
member of which was "to have in the state real
or personal property above the value of five hun-
THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SEVERAL STATES. 267
drecl pounds current money.'* These electors were chap.
to elect by ballot " six out of the gentlemen resi- ^ — ^
dents of the eastern shore," and "nine out of the 1733,
gentlemen residents of the western shore " of the
Chesapeake bay ; the fifteen " gentlemen " thus
chosen constituted the quinquennial senate of
Maryland, and themselves filled up any vacancy
that might occur in their number during their
term of five years. This is the most deliberate
measure which was devised to curb or balance pop-
ular power, and marks the reluctance with which
its authors parted from their institutions under the
crown of England.
Each state had its governor or president, as in the
days of monarchy ; but the source of his appoint-
ment was changed, and his powers abridged. In the
four New England states he was chosen directly by
all the primary electors, which is the safest way in
a republic; in New York, by the freeholders who
possessed freeholds of the value of two hundred and
fifty dollars ; in Georgia, by the representatives of
the people ; in Pennsylvania, by the joint vote of
the council 'and assembly, who were confined in their
selection to the members of the council ; in the
other six states, by the joint ballot of the two
branches of the legislature.
Kxcept in Pennsylvania, a small property quali-
fication was usually required of a representative;
more, of a senator; most, of a governor. New
York required only that its governor should be a
freeholder; Massachusetts, that his freehold should
be of the value of about thirty-three hundred
dollars ; New Hampshire required but half as
268 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, mucli; South Carolina, that his plantation or free-
V--V — ' hold, counting the slaves " settled " upon it, should
1783]" be of the value of forty-two thousand eight hun-
dred dollars iji currency.
In New York and Delaw^are the governor was
chosen for three years ; in South Carolina for two ;
in all the rest for only one. South of New Jersey
the capacity of reelection was jealously restricted ; in
those states which were most republican there was
no such restriction ; in Massachusetts, Connecticut,
and Rhode Island, a governor was often reelected
for a long succession of years.
In the declaration of independence, the king w^as
complained of for having refused his assent to
wholesome laws : the jealousy fostered by long
conflicts with the crown led to the general refusal
of a negative power to the governor. The thought-
ful men who devised the constitution of New York
established the principle of a conditional veto ; a
law might be negatived, and the veto w^as final,
unless it should be passed again by a majority of
two thirds of each of the two branches. New York
unwisely confided the negative power to a council,
of which the governor formed but one ; Massachu-
setts in 1779 improved upon the precedent, and
placed the conditional veto in the hands of the
governor alone. In her provisional form South
Carolina clothed her executive chief with a veto
power; but in the constitution of 1778 it was ab-
rogated. In all the other colonies the governor
either had no share in making laws, or had only a
casting vote, or at most a double vote in the least
numerous of the two branches.
THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SEVERAL STATES. 269
The legislative branch was the centre of the sjs- chap.
tern ; nowhere had the governor power to dissolve ^ — y — '
the legislature, or either branch of it, and so appeal 1793^
directly to the people ; and on the other hand, the
governor, once elected, could not be removed dur-
ing his term of office except by impeachment.
In most of the states, all important civil and
military officers were elected by the legislature.
The scanty power intrusted to a governor, wher-
ever his pow^er was more than a shadow, was
still farther restrained by an executive council,
formed partly after the model of the British privy
council, and partly after colonial precedents. In
the few states in which the governor had the nomi-
nation of officers, particularly in Massachusetts and
New Hampshire, they could be commissioned only
with the consent of council. In New York, the
appointing power, when the constitution did not
direct other\vise, was confided to the governor and
a council of four senators, elected by the assembly
from the four great districts of the state; and in
this body the governor had " a casting voice, but
no other vote." This worst arrangement of all, so
sure to promote faction and intrigue, was the fruit
of the deliberate judgment of wise and disinter-
ested statesmen, in their zeal for securing adminis-
trative purity. Whatever sprung readily from the
condition and intelligence of the people, had endur-
ing life; while artificial arrangements, like this of
the council of appointment in New York and like
the senate of Maryland, though devised by earnest
statesmen of careful education and great endow-
ments, pined from their birth, and soon died away.
23*
XV
17TG-
1783.
270 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. The third great branch of government was in
theory kept distinct from the other two. In Con-
necticut and Rhode Island, some judicial powers
were exercised by the governor and assistants; the
other courts were constituted by the two branches
of the legislature. In Massachusetts and New
Hampshire, the governor, with the consent of
council, selected the judges ; in New York, the
council of appointment ; but for the most part
they were chosen by the legislature. In South
Carolina, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, a
judge might be removed, as in England, upon the
address of both houses of the legislature, and this
proved the wisest practical rule ; in New York he
must retire at the age of sixty; in New Jersey
and Pennsylvania the supreme court was chosen
for seven years, in Connecticut and Rhode Island
for but one ; in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and
North Carolina, the tenure of the judicial office
was good behavior ; in Maryland, even a convic-
tion in a court of law was required before re-
moval. Powers of chancery belonged to the legis-
lature in Connecticut and Rhode Island ; in South
Carolina, to the lieutenant-governor and the privy
council ; in New Jersey, the governor and council
were the court of appeals in the last resort. The
courts were open to all, without regard to creed
or race.
The constitution of Massachusetts required a sys-
tem of universal public education as a vital ele-
ment in the state. The measure was a bequest
from their fathers, endeared by a long experience
of its benefits, and supported by the rellective
THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SEVERAL STATES. 271
judgment of the people. As yet, the system was chap.
estabHshed nowhere else except in Connecticut.
Pennsylvania aimed at no more than "to instruct
youth at low prices." The difference between the
two systems was infinite. The first provided in-
struction at the cost of the state for every child
within its borders, and bound up its schools in its
public life ; while the other only proposed to dole
out a bounty to the poor.
How to secure discreet nominations of candi-
dates for high office was cared for only in Con-
necticut. There, twenty men were first selected
by the vote of the people ; and out of these
twenty, the people at a second election set apart
twelve to be the governor and assistants. This
method was warmly recommended by Jay to the
constituent convention of New York.
Thus far the American constitutions bore a close
analogy to that of England. The English sys-
tem was an aristocracy, partly hereditary, partly
open, partly elective, with a permanent executive
head ; the American system was in idea an elective
government of the best. Some of the constitutions
required the choice of persons "best qualified," or
" persons of wisdom, experience, and virtue." These
clauses were advisory ; the suffrage was free, and
it was certain from the first that water will not
rise higher than its fountain, that untrammelled
elections will give a representation of the people
as they are; that the adoption of republican insti-
tutions, though it creates and quickens the love of
country, does not change the nature of man, or
quell the fierceness of selfish passion. Timid states-
272 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, men were anxious to introduce some palpable ele-
— Y — ' ment of permanence by the manner of constructing
1T83~ ^ council or a senate; but there was no permanence
except of the people. The people, with all its great-
ness and all its imperfections, was immortal, or at
least had perpetual succession ; its waves of thought,
following eternal laws, were never still, flowing now
with gentle vibrations, now in a sweeping flood ; and
upon that mighty water the fortunes of the state
were cast.
That nothing might be wanting to the seeming
hazard of the experiment, that nothing might be
wanting to the certainty of its success, full force
was given to one principle which was the supreme
object of universal desire. That which lay nearest
the heart of the American people, that which they
above all demanded, from love for freedom of in-
quiry, and from the earnestness of their convic-
tions, was not the abolition of hereditary monarchy
and hereditary aristocracy, not universal suffi-age,
not the immediate emancipation of slaves ; for
more than two centuries the plebeian Protestant
sects had sent up the cry to heaven for free-
dom to worship God. To the panting for this
freedom half the American states owed their exist-
ence, and all but one or two their increase in free
population. The immense majority of the inhabi-
tants of the thirteen colonies were Protestant dis-
senters; and from end to end of their continent,
from the rivers of Maine and the hills of New
Hampshire to the mountain valleys of Tennessee
and the borders of Georgia, one voice called to the
other, that there should be no connection of the
THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SEVERAL STATES. 273
church with the state, that there should be no es- chap.
tablishnient of any one form of rehgion by the ^ — r-*^
ITT ft—
civil power, that "all men have a natural and im- 1^83"
alienable right to worship God according to the dic-
tates of their own consciences and understandings."
With this great idea the colonies had travailed for
a century and a half; and now, not as revolution-
ary, not as destructive, but simply as giving utter-
ance to the thought of the nation, the states stood
up in succession, in the presence of one another,
and before God and the world, to bear their witness
in favor of restoring independence to conscience
and the mind. Henceforward, w^orsliip was known
to the law only as a purely individual act, a ques-
tion removed from civil jurisdiction, and reserved
for the conscience of every man.
In this first grand promulgation by states of
the "creation-right" of mental freedom, some shreds
of the old system still clung round the new; but
the victory was gained, and in the mind of the
collective American people was already complete.
The declaration of independence rested on " the
laws of nature and of nature's God;" in the sepa-
rate American constitutions. New York, the happy
daughter of the ancient Netherlands, true to her
lineage, and not misled by the recollections of the
Huguenots, did, "in the name of" her "good people,
ordain, determine, and declare the free exercise of
religious profession and worship, without discrim-
ination or preference, to all mankind ; " for the
men of this new commonwealth felt themselves
"required, by the benevolent principles of national
liberty, not only to expel civil tyranny, but also
274 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, to guard against that spiritual oppression and in-
^ — Y — ' tolerance wherewith the bigotry and ambition of
1783^ weak and wicked princes have scourged mankind."
So does one century avenge the wrongs done to
humanity in another ; here, Louis the Fourteenth
of France, and Bossuet, could they come back to
this life, might read the American replj' to the
sorrowful revocation of the edict of Nantes. And
the vengeance was sublime ; for independent New
York with even justice secured to the CathoHc
equal liberty of worship, and equal civil franchises.
New York ahnost alone had no reHgious test for
office. Her liberahty was wide as the world and
as the human race. , Henceforth no man on her
soil was to suffer political disfranchisement for
creed, or lineage, or color ; the conscious memory
of her people confirms, what honest history must
ever declare, that at the moment of her asser-
tion of liberty she placed no constitutional disqual-
ification whatever on the free black. Even the
emancipated slave gained instantly with his free-
dom equality before the constitution and the law.
New York placed restrictions on the suffrage and
on eligibility to office ; but those restrictions applied
alike to all.
The establishment of freedom of conscience,
which brought with it absolute freedom of mind,
of inquiry, of speech, and of the press, was, in the
several states, the fruit, not of philosophy, but of
the memories of the plebeian Protestant sects and
the natural love of freedom. Had the Americans
been skeptics, had they wanted faith, they could
THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SEVERAL STATES. 275
have founded nothing. Let not the philosopher chap.
hear with scorn, that their constitutions were so ^ — y-w
completely the offspring of the past, and not the j^gj^
phantasms of theories, that at least seven of them
required some sort of religious test as a qualifi-
cation for office. In Maryland and Massachusetts,
it was enough to declare "belief in the Christian
religion ; " in South Carolina and Georgia, in " the
Protestant religion;" in North Carolina, "in God,
the Protestant religion, and the divine authority
of the Old and of the New Testament;" in Penn-
sylvania, the test was "a belief in God, the creator
and governor of the universe, the rewarder of the
good and punisher of the wicked," with a further
acknowledging " the scriptures of the Old and
New Testament to be given by divine inspira-
tion." Beside this last acknowledgment, Delaware
required the officer to " profess fliith in God the
Father, Jesus Christ his only Son, and the Holy
Ghost, one God, blessed for evermore."
These restrictions were incidental reminiscences
of ancient usages and dearly cherished creeds, not
vital elements of the constitutions, and were opposed
to the bent of the American mind. For a season,
in the states where they were established, they
created discussions, chieHy on the full enfranchise-
ment of the Catholic and of the Jew ; and they
were eliminated, almost as soon as their incon-
venience arrested attention. At first, the Jew was
eligible to office only in Rhode Island, New York,
New Jersey, and Virginia; the Catholic in those
states, and in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Maryland, and perhaps in Connecticut. But the
276 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, great result was accomplished from the beginning;
— Y-^/ the church no longer formed a part of the state;
1783!^ and religion, ceasing to be a servant of the gov-
ernment, or an instrument of dominion, asserted its
independence, and became a life in the soul. Pub-
lic worship was voluntarily sustained. The church,
no longer subordinate to a temporal power, regained
its unity by having no visible head, and becoming
the affair of the conscience of each individual.
Nowhere was persecution for religious opinion so
nearly at an end as in America, and nowhere was
there so religious a people. In this universal free-
dom of conscience and of worship, America, com-
posed as it was of emigrants from many countries,
found its nationality; for nationality is not an arti-
ficial product, and can neither be imparted nor
taken away.
There were not wanting^ those who cast a lin-
gering look on the care of the state for public
worship. The conservative convention of Maryland
declared, that " the legislature may in their discre-
tion lay a general and equal tax for the support
of the Christian religion, leaving to each individual
the appointing the money collected from him to
the support of any particular place of public wor-
ship or minister;" but the power granted was never
exercised. For a time, Massachusetts required of
towns or religious societies " the support of public
Protestant teachers of piety, religion, and moral-
ity," of their own election; but as each man chose
his own religious society, the requisition had no
effect in large towns, and was hardly felt else-
where as a grievance. In Connecticut, the Puritan
THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SEVERAL STATES. 277
worship was still closely interwoven with the state, chap.
and had moulded the manners, habits, and faith of ' — y^
• 1 7 T C -
the people; but the complete disentanglement was I'jg^',
gradually brought about by inevitable processes of
legislation.
Where particular churches had received gifts or
inheritances, their right to them was respected. In
Maryland and South Carolina, the churches, lands,
and property that had belonged to the Church of
England, were secured to that church in its new
form ; in Virginia, where the Church of England had
with unexampled strictness been established as a
public institution, the disposition of its glebes was
assumed by the legislature ; and as all denomina-
tions had contributed to their acquisition, they came
to be considered as the property of the state. Tithes
were nowhere continued ; and the rule prevailed,
that " no man could be compelled to maintain any
ministry contrary to his own free will and con-
sent." South Carolina, in her legislation on religion,
attempted to separate herself from the system of
the other states ; she alone appointed a test for the
voter, and made this declaration : " The Christian
Protestant religion is hereby constituted and de-
clared to be the established religion of this state."
But the condition of society was stronger than the
constitution, and this declaration proved but the
shadow of a system that was vanishing away.
The complete separation of the church and the
state by the establishment of perfect religious
equality was followed by the wonderful result,
that the separation was approved of everywhere,
always, and by all. The old Anglican church,
VOL. IX. 24
1776-
1783.
278 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, which became known as the Protestant Episcopal,
wished to preserve its endowments, and might
complain of their impairment ; but it preferred
ever after to take care of itself, and was glad to
share in that equality which dispelled the dread
of episcopal tyranny, and left it free to perfect its
organization according to its own desires. The
Roman Catholic eagerly accepted in America his
place, as an equal with Protestants, and soon found
contentment and hope in his new relations. The
rigid Presbyterians proved in America the supporters
of religious freedom. They were true to the spirit
of the great English dissenter who hated all laws
that were formed
To stretch the conscience, and to bind
The native freedom of the mind.
In Virginia, where alone there was an arduous
struggle in the legislature, the presbytery of Han-
over took the lead for liberty, and demanded the
abolition of the establishment of the Anglican
church, and the civil equality of every denomina-
tion ; it was supported by the voices of Baptists and
Quakers and all the sects that had sprung from the
people; and after a contest of eight weeks, the
measure was carried, by the activity of Jefferson,
in an assembly of which the majority were Protes-
tant Episcopalians. Nor was this demand by Presby-
terians for equality confined to Virginia, where they
were in a minority ; it was from Witherspoon of
New Jersey that Madison imbibed the lesson of per-
fect freedom in matters of conscience. When the
constitution of that state was framed by a conven-
tion composed chiefly of Presbyterians, they estab-
17TG-
1783.
THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SEVERAL STATES. 279
lished perfect liberty of conscience, without the chap.
blemish of a test.^ Freethinkers might have been v^-r^
content with toleration, but real religious conviction
would accept nothing less than equality. The more
profound was faith, the more it scorned to admit a
connection with the state ; for such a connection
being inherently vicious, the state might more
readily form an alliance with error than with truth,
with despotism over mind than with freedom.
The determination to leave truth to her own
strength, and religious worship to the conscience and
voluntary act of the worshipper, was the natural
outflow of religious feeling. The dissenters and ple-
beian sects who had found an asylum in the Amer-
ican wilderness, the inheritors from Milton, and
George Fox, and Penn, and Baxter, and Bunyan,
revealed to the world the secret of the eighteenth
centuVy.
The constitution of Georgia declared, that " estates
shall not be entailed, and when a person dies in-
testate, his or her estate shall be divided equally
among the children." The same principle prevailed
essentially in other states, in conformity to their
laws and their manners, and was not open to con-
tradiction. But it was otherwise in Virginia. There,
a system of entails, enforced with a rigor unknown
in the old country, had tended to make the posses-
sion of great estates, especially to the east of the
Blue ridge, the privilege of the first-born. In Eng-
1 Section 18 of the New Jersey joyed by others their fellow-sub-
constitution of 1776. The 19th sec- jeets." There was no disfranchise-
tion secured " to all persons pro- nient of those not " of any Protes-
fessing a belief in the faith of any tant sect ;" and no test was required
Protestant sect " all civil rights " en- of any onf»
1776-
1783.
280 AlVIERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, land, the courts of law permitted entails to be
docked by fine and recovery; in 1705 Virginia
prohibited all such innovations, and the tenure
could be changed by nothing less than a special
statute. In 1727 it was further enacted, that
slaves might be attached to the soil, and be en-
tailed with it. These measures riveted an heredi-
tary aristocracy, founded not on learning or talent
or moral worth or public service, but on the pos-
session of land and slaves. It was to perfect the
republican institutions of Virginia by breaking
down this aristocracy, that Jefferson was summoned
from the national congress to a seat in the assembly
of his native state. On the twelfth of October, 1776,
he obtained leave to bring in a bill for the abolish-
ment of entails; and against the opposition of Ed-
mund Pendleton, who was no friend to innovations,
all donees in tail, by the act of this first republican
letjrislature of Viro^inia, were vested with the absolute
dominion of the property entailed.
To complete the reform it was necessary to
change the rules of descent, so that the lands of
an intestate might be divided equally among his
representatives ; and this was effected through a
committee, of which Jefferson, Pendleton, and
Wythe were the active members, and which was
charged with the revision of the common law, the
British statutes still valid in the state, and the
criminal statutes of Virginia. The new law of
descent was the work of Jefferson ; and the candid
historian of Virginia approves the graceful sym-
metry of the act which abolished primogeniture,
and directed property into " the channels which
THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SEVERAL STATES. 281
the head and heart of every sane man would be chap.
prone to choose." '^ — y — '
In the low country of Virginia, and of the states n^^]
next south of it, the majority of the inhabitants
were bondmen of another race and skin, except
where modified by mixture. The courts of Virginia
would not recognise a right of property in the future
increase of slaves ; the revisers of her laws, George
Mason, Jefferson, Pendleton, Wythe, condemned sla-
very itself, especially Mason, in words that thrilled
with the agony of sorrowing earnestness. It is the
testimony of Jefferson that an amendatory bill was
prepared, "to emancipate all slaves born after passing
the act;" but the details of the bill were impossible
of execution, and nothing came of it. Delaware, in
her constitution, prepared her ultimate liberation
from the terrible evil by declaring free every person
thereafter imported into the state from Africa, and
by forbidding the introduction of any slave for sale.
Nowhere was slavery formally established in the
constitution as a permanent social relation ; the
unshackled power of emancipation was left to the
legislature of every state.
Provision was made for reforming the constitu-
tions which were now established. The greatest
obstacles were thrown in the way of change in
Pennsylvania, where the attempt could be made
only once in seven years by the election of a
council of censors ; the fewest in South Carolina,
where the majority of a legislature which was no
adequate representative of the people expressly as-
sumed to itself and its successors original, indepen-
dent, and final constituent power.
24*
282 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. The British parHament, in its bill of rights, had
— r^' only summed up the liberties that Englishmen in
17 83^ the lapse of centuries had acquired, or had wrest-
ed from their kings ; the Americans opened their
career of independence by a declaration of the
self-evident rights of man ; and this, begun by Vir-
ginia, was repeated, with variations, in every con-
stitution formed after independence, except that
of South Carolina. In that state, the amended
constitution breathed not one word for universal
freedom, made no assertion of human rights, and
no longer affirmed that the people is the source
of power. Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New
Hampshire proclaimed that all men are born free,
and as a consequence were the first to get rid of
slavery ; Georgia recognised rights derived to Amer-
icans from " the laws of nature and reason ; " at
the bar of humanity and the bar of the people.
South Carolina alone remained silent.
Here, then, we have the prevailing idea of politi-
cal life in the United States. On the one hand,
they continued the institutions received from Eng-
land with as little immediate change as possible ;
and on the other, they desired for their constitu-
tions a healthy, continuous growth. They accepted
the actual state of society as the natural one
resulting from the antecedents of the nation ; at
the same time, they recognised the right of man
to make unceasing advances towards realizing polit-
ical justice, and the public conscience yearned for
a nearer approach to ideal perfection. Civil power
remained, under slight modifications, with those who
had held it before ; but for their inviolable rule in
THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SEVERAL STATES. 283
its exercise, they were enjoined to take the gen- chap.
eral principles derived from the nature of man v — .^
and the eternal reason. No one thought it possible Jijggf
to introduce by a decree the reign of absolute
ri^ht. To have attempted to strike down all evil
at one blow would have been to attempt to strike
down human society itself; for, from the nature
of man, imperfection clings to all the works of
his hands. The American statesmen were not mis-
led by this attractive but delusive hope, even
while they held that their codes of law and their
constitutions should reflect ever more and more
clearly the equality and brotherhood of man.
America neither separated abruptly from the
past, nor adhered to its decaying forms. The
principles that gave life to the new institutions
pervaded history like a prophecy. They did not
compel a sudden change of social or of internal
political relations ; but they were as a light shining
more and more brightly into the darkness. In
a country which enjoyed freedom of conscience, of
inquiry, of speech, of the press, and of government,
the universal intuition of truth promised a never-
ending career of progress and reform.
CHAPTER XVI.
PREPARATIONS OF EUROPE FOR THE CAMPAIGN OP
1777. france and holland.
December, 1776 — May, 1777.
^xv^' While Washington was toiling under difficulties
^---y — ' without reward, a rival in Europe aspired to his
177 6 •
Dec* place. The Count de Broglie, disclaiming the am-
bition of becoming the sovereign of the United
States, insinuated his willingness to be for a pe-
riod of years its William of Orange, provided he
could be assured of a large grant of money be-
fore embarkation ; an ample revenue, the highest
military rank, and the direction of foreign rela-
tions during his command ; and a princely annuity
for life after his return. The offer was to have
been made through Kalb,^ the former emissary of
Choiseul in the British colonies : the acknowl-
edged poverty of the new republic scattered the
great man's short-lived dream ; but Kalb, though
1 Lettre du Comte de BrogHe k by Frederic Kapp. See Kapp's
de Kalb, k Ruffec, le 11 Decembre, Kalb, 88.
1776, communicated to me in MS.
EUROPE PREPARES FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 285
in his fifty-sixth year, affluent, and happy in his chap.
wife and children, remained true to an engage- ^ — v-^
ment which in company wath Lafayette he had jj^,^^ *
taken- with Deane to serve as a major-general in
the insurgent army. In him the country gained
an officer who had abiHty and experience, spoke
English well, and, though no enthusiast, was active
and devoted to duty. When the American com-
missioner told Lafayette plainly that the credit of
his government was too low to furnish the volun-
teers a transport, " Then," said the young man, " I
will purchase one myself;" and, glad to be useful
where he had before only shown zeal, at his own
cost he bought and secretly freighted the " Vic-
tory," which was to carry himself, the veteran
Kalb, and twelve other French officers to America.
During the weeks of preparation, he made a visit
to Eno;land. At the ao;e of nineteen it seemed to
him an amusement to be presented to the king
against whom he was going to fight; but he de-
clined the king's offer of leave to inspect the Brit-
ish navy-j^ards.
After a stormy passage of thirty days, during
which his ship, the "Reprisal," had been chased
by British cruisers, and had taken two British brig-
antines as prizes, Franklin came wathin sight of
France ; and on the seventh of December, he
reached Nantes. His arrival took Europe by sur-
prise, as no notice of his mission had preceded
him. The story was spread in England, that he was
a fugitive for safety. "I never will believe," said
Edmund Burke, "that he is going to conclude a
long life, which has brightened every hour it has
286 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
I
<^AP. continued, with so foul and dishonorable a flight.*'
All Europe at once inferred, that a man of his
years and great name would not have crossed the
Atlantic but in the assured hope of happy results.
The sayings that fell from him at Nantes ran
through Paris and France ; and on his word the
nation eagerly credited what it wished to find
true, that not even twenty successful campaigns
could reduce the Americans ; that their irrevocable
decision was made ; that they would be forever an
independent state, and the natural ally of France.
His manner was frank ; and yet, when he had
spoken, his silence raised expectation that he had
still weightier words to utter.
Lord Stormont, the British ambassador, was con-
stantly protesting against the departure of French
ships, laden with military stores, for America.
He now demanded the restoration of the two
prizes brought in to Nantes with Franklin, arguing
from the law of nations, that no prize can be a
lawful one unless made under the authority of
some sovereign power, whose existence has been
acknowledged by other powers, and evidenced by
treaties and alliances. " You cannot expect us,"
replied Vergennes, " to take upon our shoulders the
burden of your war ; every wise nation places its
chief security in its own vigilance." " The eyes
of Argus," said Stormont, "would not be too much
for us." "And if you had those eyes," answered
Vergennes, " they would only show you our sincere
desire of peace." Stormont complained that French
officers were embarking for America. " The French
nation," replied Vergennes, "has a turn for adven-
EUROPE PREPARES FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 287
ture." The ambassador saw, and reported, that his crap.
vicrorous and incessant remonstrances were little
heeded. Even Maurepas, who professed to aim at
preserving peace, was drawn along by his easiness
of temper, his love of artifice, and the desire to
maim the British by secret wounds. To strike the
nation's rival, covertly or openly, was the sentiment
of nearly every Frenchman except the king. Artois,
the king's second brother, avowed his good- will for
the Americans, and longed for a war with England.
"We shall be sure to have it," said his younger
brother to a friend of the Americans.
Franklin reached Paris on the twenty-first of
December, and was welcomed with wonderftd una-
nimity. His fame as a philosopher, his unfailing
good-humor, the dignity, self-possession, and ease of
his manners, the plainness of his dress, his habit
of wearing his straight, thin, gray hair without pow-
der, contrary to the fashion of that day in France,
acted as a spell. The venerable impersonation
of the republics of antiquity seemed to have
come to accept the homage of the gay capital.
The national cry was in favor of the "insurgents,"
for so they were called, and never rebels; their
cause was the cause of all mankind ; they were
fighting for the liberty of France in defending
their own. Some of the constitutions of the colo-
nies, separating the state from the church, and
establishing freedom of worship, were translated,
and read with rapture. Those who lived under
arbitrary power did not disguise their longing for
freedom. The friends of Choiseul, who heaped civil-
ities on Franklin, were persistent in their clamors
288 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, that now was the happy moment for France to
take a lasting revenge on her haughty enemy.
But FrankHn betrayed no symptoms of sharing
their impatience, avoiding jealousies by keeping
the company of men of letters, and appearing to
be absorbed in the pursuits of science.
Meantime the policy of the court unfolded itself
In the morning of the twenty-eighth, the three
American commissioners waited by appointment on
Vergennes. He assured them protection, read their
commissions, and received the plan of congress for
a treaty with France. Vergennes spoke freely to
the commissioners of the attachment of the French
nation to their cause. Prizes taken under the
American flag might be brought into French ports,
with such precautions as would invalidate complaints
from Great Britain. Of Franklin he requested a
paper on the condition of America. Their future
intercourse he desired might be most strictly secret,
without the intervention of any third person. He
added that as France and Spain were perfectly in
accord, they might communicate freely with the
Spanish ambassador.
The Count de Aranda, then fifty-eight years old.
was of the grandees of Aragon. By nature proud,
impetuous, restless, and obstinate, he had never
disciplined his temper, and his manners were un-
genial. A soldier in early life, he had been at-
tracted to Prussia by the fame of Frederic ; he
admired Voltaire, D'Alembert, and Rousseau ; and
in France he was honored for his superiority to
superstition. His haughty self-dependence and force
of will just fitted him for the service of Charles the
EUROPE PREPARES FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 289
Third in suppressing the riots of Madrid and driving chap.
the Jesuits from Spain. As an administrative re- ^ — y^
former he began with too much vehemence ; but j)^,^ *
thwarted by the stiff formalities of officials, and the
jealousies of the clerical party, he withdrew from
court to fill the embassy at Paris, where he was
tormented by an unquiet eagerness for more active
employment. His system was marked by devoted-
ness to the French alliance, and hatred of England,
on whose prosperity and power he longed to see
France and Spain inflict a mortal blow. But he
was a daring schemer and bad calculator, rather
than a creative or sagacious statesman ; and on
much of the diplomatic business with France, re-
lating to America^ he was not consulted.
On the twenty -ninth of December, 1776, and
again six days later, the American commissioners ^'^'^^*
held secret but barren interviews with Aranda. He
could only promise American privateers, with their
prizes, the same security in Spanish ports which
they found in those of France ; he had no authority
to expound the intentions of his king; his opin-
ions, which passionately favored the most active
measures in behalf of America, w^ere known at
Madrid, and passed unheeded. He did not de-
ceive the sagacity of Franklin, who always advised
his country " to wait with dignity for the appli-
cations of others, and not go about suitoring for
alliances;" but a few weeks later, Arthur Lee, in
his eagerness to negotiate with Spain, took from
Aranda a passport for Madrid.
On the fifth of January, the commissioners pre-
sented to Vergennes a written request for eight
VOL. IX. 25
290 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, ships of the Hne, for ammunition, brass field-pieces,
and twenty or thirty thousand muskets. The reason-
ing was addressed ahke to France and Spain: "The
interest of the three nations is the same ; the
opportunity of securing a commerce, which in time
will be immense, now presents itself; if neglected,
it may never return; delay may be attended with
fatal consequences." This paper excited no inter-
est in the Spanish government, which was only
anxious to secure the exclusive commerce of its
own colonies, and did not aspire to that of the
United States. At Versailles, the petition was re-
ported to the king, in the presence of Maurepas,
and made the subject of the calmest deliberation ;
and on the thirteenth, Gerard, meeting the commis-
sioners by night, at a private house in Paris, read
to them the careful answer Avhich had received the
royal sanction. The king could furnish the Ameri-
cans neither ships nor convoys, for such a partiality
would be a ground of war, into Avhich he would
not be led but by methods analogous to the dig-
nity of a great power, and by the necessity of
his important interests. "Time and events must
be w^aited for, and provision made to profit by
them. The United Provinces," so the new republic
was styled, "may be assured, that neither France
nor Spain will make them any overture that can in
the least contravene their essential interests ; that
they both, wholly free from every wish for conquests,
always have singly in view to make it impossible for
the common enemy to injure the United Powers.
The commercial facilities afforded in the ports of
France and Spain, and the tacit diversion of the
EUROPE PREPARES FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 291
two powers whose expensive armaments oblige ^R??'
England to divide her efforts, manifest the inter-
est of the two crowns in the success of the Amer-
icans. The king will not incommode them in
deriving resources from the commerce of his king-
dom, confident that they will conform to the rules
prescribed by the precise and rigorous meaning of
existing treaties, of which the two monarchs are
exact observers. Unable to enter into the details
of their supplies, he will mark to them his be-
nevolence and good-will by destining for them
secret succors which will assure and extend their
credit and their purchases."
Of this communication, which was due to the
confidence inspired by Franklin, — of Arthur Lee
Vergennes did not so much as notice the name, —
the promises were fliithfully kept. Half a million
of livres was paid to the banker of the commission-
ers quarterly, the first instalment on the sixteenth.
After many ostensible hindrances, the "Seine," the
"Amphitrite," and the "Mercury," laden with warlike
stores by Deane and Beaumarchais, were allowed to
set sail. Of these, the first was captured by the
British ; but the other tw^o reached their destination
in time for the summer campaign. The commis-
sioners were further encouraged to enter into a
contract with the farmers-general to furnish fifty-
six thousand hogsheads of tobacco; and on this
contract they received an advance of a million
livres. Thus they were able to send warlike sup-
plies to America.
To France the British ministry sent courteous FcU
remonstrances; towards the weaker power of Hoi-
292 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, land they were overbearino:. A commerce existed
XVI. '^ . ° ,
between St. Eustatius and the United States : the
British admiral at the Leeward islands was " ordered
to station proper cruisers off the harbor of th«o-t
island, and to direct their commanders to search all
Dutch ships and vessels going into or carrying out
of the said harbor, and to send such of them as
sh«all be found to have any arms, ammunition,
clothing, or materials for clothing on board, into
some of his majesty's ports, to be detained until
further orders." ^ The king " perused, w^ith equal
surprise and indignation," the papers which proved
that the principal fort on the island had returned
the salute of the American brigantine "Andrew
Doria," and that the governor had had "the inso-
lence and folly "^ to say: "I am far from betraying
any partiality between Great Britain and her North
American colonies."^ The British ambassador at the
Hague, following his instructions, demanded of their
hitrh miochtinesses the disavowal of the salute and
the recall of the governor : " till this satisfaction is
given, they must not expect that his majesty will
suffer himself to be amused by simple assurances,
or that he will hesitate for an instant to take the
measures that he shall think due to the interests
and dignity of his crown."* This Janguage of con-
tempt and menace incensed all Holland, especially
the city of Amsterdam ; and a just resentment
influenced the decision of the States and of the
1 Suffolk to the Lords of the Ad- tatiiis, to Mr. President Greathead,
miralty, 15 Feb. 1777. 23 Dec. 1776.
2 Suffolk to Sir Joseph Yorke, ^ Memorie van den heer Yorke
14 Feb. 1777. te 's Gravenhaf^e. Exhibltum dea
3 De Graaf, governor of St. Eus- 21 February, 1777.
EUROPE PREPARES FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 293
Prince of Orange. Van de Graaf, the governor, who chap.
was the first person abroad to salute the congress
colors with their thirteen stripes/ was recalled ; but
the States returned the paper of Yorke,^ and the
Dutch minister in London made answ^er directly
to the king, complaining of " the menacing tone
of the memorial, which appeared to their high
mightinesses too remote from that which is usual,
and which ought to be usual, between sovereigns
and independent powers."? "I am pretty callous,"
wrote Yorke privately to the foreign office ; " a
long residence in these marshes has not blinded me
in favor of Nic Frog."* As the result, the States
demanded a number of armed ships to be in
readiness; and thus one step was taken towards
involving the United Provinces in the war.
The measures sanctioned by the king of France
were a war in disguise against England ; but he
professed to be unequivocally for peace, and was
60 dull as not to know that he was forfeitins; his
right to it. After long research, with the best op-
portunities, I cannot find that on any one occasion
he expressed voluntary sympathy with America;
and he heard the praises of Franklin with petu-
lance. It was the philosophic opinion of France
which swayed the cabinet to the side of the young
republic. Since Turgot and Malesherbes had been
discharged, there was no direct access for that opin-
ion to give advice to the monarch; and it now
1 Deposition of James Eraser : Welderen te Londen aan den Grif-
♦' The c'onjrress colors, with thirteen fier der Staten Generaal, dat. 28
stripes in them." " It [the salute] Maart, 17 77. Bylage, recepta 1
was by the governor's order." ' % April, 1777.
2 Franklin, viii. 208. 4 Sir Joseph Yorke to William
3 Missive van den heer J. W. v. Eden, 18 April; 177 7.
25*
294
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
^xvF' V^^^^^^^^^ th^ palace through the intrigues of the
^ — -Y--^ author of "Figaro." With profuse offers to Maure-
1 T T "7
March. P*'^^ ^^ devoted service, and a wish to make his
administration honored by all the peoples of the
world, Beaumarchais, on the thirtieth of March, be-
sought him imploringly to overcome his own hesi-
tation and the scruples of the king, in words like
these:
"Listen to me, I pray you. I fear above all,
that you underrate the empire which your age
and your wisdom give you over a young prince
whose heart is formed, but whose politics are still
in the cradle. You forget too much that this soul,
fresh and firm as it may be, has many times been
bent, and even brought back from very far. You
forget that as dauphin Louis the Sixteenth had an
invincible dislike to the old magistracy, and that
their recall honored the first six months of his
rei<irn. You foro-et that he had sworn never to
be inoculated, and that eight days after the oath
he had the vi?*us in his arm. There is no one
who does not know it, and no one who excuses
you for not using the proudest right of your
office, that of giving effect to the great things
which you bear in your soul. I shall never have
a day of true happiness if your administration
closes without accomplishing the three grandest
objects which can make it illustrious: the abase-
ment of the English by the union of America and
France, the reestablishment of the finances, and
the concession of civil existence to the Protestants
of the kingdom by a law which shall legally
commingle them with all the subjects of the king.
EUROPE PREPARES FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 295
These three objects are to-day in your hands, chap.
XVI.
What successes can more beautifully crown your — y — '
noble career? After such action, death would be ^''^'^'^
no more : the dearest life of man, his reputation,
survives over all, and becomes eternal."^
The disfranchisement of Protestants already began
to be modified : the office of comptroller-general, of
which the incumbent was required to take an oath
to support the Catholic religion, was abolished in fa-
vor of the Calvinist, Necker, a rich Parisian banker,
by birth a republican of Geneva, the defender of
the protective system against Turgot ; and on the
second of July, after a novitiate as an assistant, he
was created director -general of the finances, but
without a seat in the cabinet. The king consented
because he was told that the welfare of France re-
quired the appointment ; Maurepas was pleased, for
he feared no rivalry. As an able and incorrupt
financier, Necker brought aid to the credit of the
government ; he boldly promised to provide for a
war of two years without new taxes ; but he w^as
not suited to become a leading statesman, for his
vanity could get the better of his public spirit.
The king could not suppress the zeal that pre-
vailed in France, though " he would break out
into a passion w^henever he heard of help fur-
nished to the Americans."^ After a stay of three
weeks on the north side of the channel, Lafayette
travelled, with Kalb as his companion, from Paris
to Bordeaux. He and his party hastened in the
1 Cople de ma lettre a M. le Comte Anjjleterre, T. cccccxxii. The date
ide Maurepas du 30 May, 1777, in of May in the copy should be March.
Beaumarchais to Vergennes, 30 2 VVords of Count d'Artois, as re-
Mjuch, 1777, in French Archives, ported by Stormont.
296 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. "Victory" to escape from France to the Spanish
— Y — ' port of Los Pasages. There he received the order
1T7T • •
of the king to give up his expedition ; but after
some vacillation, and a run to Bordeaux and back,
he braved the order, and, on the twenty-sixth of
April, embarked for America. The English lay in
wait for him, eager to consign him to a prison;^
but he escaped their devices. To his young wife,
whom he left far advanced in her second pregnancy,
he .wrote on board the "Victory," at sea: "From
love to me become a good American ; the welfare
of America is closely bound up with the welfare
of all mankind ; it is about to become the safe
asylum of virtue, tolerance, equality, and peaceful
liberty." The women of Paris applauded his hero-
ism ; the queen gave him her admiration ; pub-
lic opinion extolled "his strong enthusiasm in a
good cause;" the indifferent spoke of his conduct
as " a brilliant folly." " The same folly," said Ver-
gennes, " has turned the heads of our young peo-
ple to an inconceivable extent."
He was soon followed by Casimir Pulaski, a
Polish nobleman illustrious in Europe for his vir-
tues and his misfortunes. In the war for the in-
dependence of his native land, he lost his father
and his brothers. After his attempt to carry off
the king of Poland, his property was confiscated,
and he was sentenced to outlawry and death ; and
now he lived in exile at Marseilles, in the utmost
destitution, under an adopted name. Through Rul-
1 Sir Joseph Yorke to William Lafayette, and had rather he was so
Eden, April 18, 1777 : "I like your lodged, than stopped at St. Sebas-
plan for the accommodation of M. de tian's."
EUROPE PREPARES FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 297
liiere, the historian of Poland, Yergennes paid his chap.
debts and recommended him to Franklin, who — r-^
gave him a conveyance to the United States, and
explained to congress how much he had done for
the freedom of his country. Stormont called him
" an assassin," as he had called the American dep-
uties malefactors that deserved the gallows.
In April and May, Joseph the Second of Austria
passed six weeks at Paris. In conversation he was
either silent on American affairs, or took the side
which was very unpopular in the French capital;^
excusing himself to the Duchess of Bourbon by
saying : " I am a king by trade ; " nor would he
permit a visit from Franklin and Deane, or even
consent to meet them in his walks ; though he re-
ceived from the Tuscan minister, the Abbe Niccoli,
who w\as a zealous abettor of the cause of the
insurgents, a paper justifying their conduct, and
explaining the extent of their resources.
Ships were continually leaving the ports of
France for the United States, laden with all that
they most needed, and American trading vessels
were received and protected. Care was taken to
preserve appearances, so that the British govern-
ment, which knew very well what was doing, might
not be compelled to declare w^ar against France,
for each nation wished to postpone hostilities.
When Stormont remonstrated, a ship bound for
America would be stopped, and if warlike stores
were found on board, would be compelled to unload
them ; but presently the order would be forgotten,
the ship would take in its cargo and set sail, and
I Stormont to Suffolk, 22 May, 1777.
298 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, the ever-renewed complaints of the English ambas-
* — Y-^ sador would be put aside by the quiet earnestness
177 7. qI* Vergennes and the polished levity of Maurepas.
The use made by American privateers of every
convenient French harbor was a more defiant vio-
lation of public law. The king refused to seize
and restore their prizes; but orders were given
that American privateers should be admitted into
French harbors only in cases of extreme urgency,
and should be furnished with no more than enough
to enable them to regain their own ports. For all
that, the " Reprisal," after replenishing its stores at
Nantes, cruised off the French coast, and its five
new prizes, one of which was the royal packet be-
tween Lisbon and Falmouth, were unmoored in the
harbor of L'Orient, the captain giving out that he
intended to send them to America. Stormont hur-
ried to Vergennes to demand that the captive
ships, with their crews and cargoes, should be de-
livered up. " You come too late," said Vergennes ;
"orders have already been sent that the American
ship and her prizes must instantly put to sea."
The "Reprisal" continued its depredations till mid-
summer, when it was caught by the British ; but
before its capture, two other privateers were suf-
fered to use French harbors as their base. The
facts were open ; the excuses deceived no one ;
the rule of public law was not questioned. Stor-
mont remonstrated incessantly, and sometimes with
passion ; but the English ministers were engaged
in a desperate effort to reduce their former colo-
nies in one campaign, and avoided an immediate
rupture.
EUROPE PREPARES FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 299
While unmeaning assurances of a wish for con- ^^y^-
tinned peace were repeated by rote, Vergennes
never dissembled to himself that his policy was in-
consistent with every duty towards a friendly power;
he professed no justification, except that England
was not a friendly power, but an inveterate enemy
whose enfeeblement was required for the future
tranquillity of France. His measures were chosen
to promote the independence of the United States,
with a full knowledge that they led necessarily to
an open war. Complaints and rejoinders were un-
ceasing ; but both parties were reluctant to lay down
in writing the principles of national law by which
they regulated their conduct. France always ex-
pressed the purpose to conform to treaties, and
England would never enumerate the treaties which
she wished to be considered as still in force. A
profession of neutrality would have been resented
by England as an insult and a wrong; Vergennes,
though in the presence of Lord Stormont he in-
cidentally called America a republic, never recog-
nised the Americans as a belligerent power, but
viewing the colonies as a part of the British do-
minions, threw exclusively upon England the bur-
den of maintaining her own municipal laws. Eng-
land claimed that France should shut her harbors
against American privateers; and Vergennes pro-
fessed to admit them only when in distress, and
to drive them forth again without delay. England
insisted that no arms or munitions of war should
be exported to America, or to ports to which
Americans could conveniently repair for a supply ;
Vergennes, rather acknowledging the rightfulness
17TT.
300 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, of the demand, represented the Americans and
w-v-L/ their friends as escaping his vigilance. Enghxnd
was uneasy at the presence of American commis-
sioners in Paris ; Vergennes compared the house
of a minister to a church which any one might
enter, but with no certainty that his prayers would
be heard. England claimed the right of search;
Vergennes admitted it in the utmost latitude in
the neighborhood of any part of the British domin-
ions, but demurred to its exercise in mid-ocean.
England did not scruple to seize and confiscate
American property wherever found ; France held
that on the high seas American property laden
in French ships was inviolably safe. England de-
layed its declaration of war from motives of con-
venience; France knew that it was imminent and
inevitable, and prepared for it with the utmost
diligence.
CHAPTER XVII.
PREPARATIONS OF EUROPE FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF
1777, CONTINUED.
THE ASPECT OF SPAIN ON AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
1777.
France preferred to act in perfect concert with ^^y^p
Spain, which by her projection into the Atlantic > — y — '
seemed destined to be the great ocean power of
Europe, and which, more than any other kingdom,
was touched by questions of colonial independence.
One of her own poets, using the language of im-
perial Rome, had foretold the discovery of the
western world ; her ships first entered the harbors
of the New Indies, first broke into the Pacific, first
went round the earth ; Spanish cavaliers excelled all
others as explorers of unknown realms, and, at their
own cost, conquered for their sovereigns almost
a hemisphere. After a long period of decline, this
proud and earnest people, formed out of the most
cultivated races ' and nations, Aryan and Semitic,
Iberians, Celts, Phoenicians, Romans, Jews, Gothic
Germans, and Saracens, counting among its great
vol.. IX. 26
302
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
TviT' ^^^^ Seneca and Trajan, Averrhoes and the Cid,
' — y — Cervantes and Velasquez, devout even to bigotry
in its land of churches, the most imaginative and
poetic among the nations, was seen to be entering
on a career of improvement. Rousseau contem-
plated its future with extravagant hope; D'Alem-
bert, reasoning more calmly, predicted its recovery
of a high position among the powers of the world;
Spain was the only country of which Frederic of
Prussia envied the sovereign, for the delights of its
climate, and the opportunity offered to its ruler to
renew its greatness. For want of a good govern-
ment by which the people could have been led, of
organs to concentre their w^ill, of liberty to develop
their resources, they were destined to move towards
their regeneration through a half-century of afflic-
tions, to find that the monarchy to which they wei*e
devoted was crumbling away their strength and
corrupting public morals, that there was no polit-
ical life, no hope but in themselves.
During the long struggle of Spain to eman-
cipate itself from the dominion of the Moors, the
cross had been the emblem of its national exist-
ence as well as of Christian civilization. Religion,
the monarchy, Spanish nationality, were all as one ;
' the enthusiasm of faith was also a patriotic enthusi-
asm, reverencing alike the church and the throne,
deeply seated in tradition and in hope, as intol-
erant of resistance, or even of doubt, as of treason
against the state, inquisitive of dissent, hardening
into bigotry to such a degree that even the sci-
ences which the Saracens had cultivated were re-
garded wdth distrust as the pursuits of materialists.
THE ASPECT OF SPAIN. 303
The centuries of wars for the very being of the chap.
kingdom had thrown a halo round the profession ^^r-^
of arms ; the pride of chivalry scorned the humble
virtues of industry, and even the laws cast dishonor
on meclianic labor. The prelates, devoting their
vast revenues to wholesale almsgiving, sanctified
and perpetuated the idleness of beggary. Just
when the discovery of America opened a bound-
less career to colonial enterprise, the house of
Hapsburg succeeded to the throne of Castile and
Aragon, and wasted away the resources of the
united kingdoms in the animosities and wars of a
foreign family. The consolidation of all Spain into
one country, for which the Austrian dynasty had
during two centuries vainly toiled, signalized the
accession of the grandson of Louis the Fourteenth
of France ; but that blessed unity was gained at
the too great price of the time-honored liberties of
its ancient kingdoms.
Charles the Third, who now held the sceptre in ^''"'"^«
Spain, was the best of the Spanish Bourbons. It
is touching to see the affection with which the de-
generacy of his immediate successors leads Spanish
historians to dwell on his memory. He was of a
merciful disposition, and meant well for the land
he ruled, slowly and steadily seeking the improve-
ment of its condition ; but he was more devoted
to the principle of monarchy than to Spain. He
was an obstinate stickler for regality against the
pope ; and for that he had exiled the Jesuits, and
desired the abolition of their order. But under
the influence of his confessor, a monk of the worst
type, he restored vitality to the Inquisition, suf-
304 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
XVII.
1777.
CHAP, fered It to publish the papal bull which granted
it unlimited jurisdiction, and, bj way of excuse for
his consent to its arraigning, on most frivolous
grounds, one of his best administrative officers for
" atheism, heresy, and materialism," declared that
"he would have delivered up to its tribunal his
own son." ^ And with increase of years his con-
science was sure to grow more sensitive.
Spain believed herself in need of allies. Between
the peoples of France and Spain there was no affec-
tion ; so in August, 1761, a family compact was
established between their kings. In forming this
alliance not one Spaniard took part : the act was
that of the Bourbon families ; the agents on the
part of the Spanish branch were Wall and Grimaldi,
one of them an adventurer from Ireland, the other
from Italy.
Feb. It seemed the dawn of better days for Spain, when,
in February, 1777, the universal popular hatred of
the babbling, incompetent Grimaldi, quickened by
the shameful failure of the expedition against Al-
giers, drove him from the ministry and from the
country. On the eighteenth he w^as succeeded by
Don Jose Moniiio, Count de Florida Blanca. For
the first time for more than twenty years, Spain
obtained a ministry composed wholly of Spaniards ;
and for the first time since the days of Ferdinand
and Isabella, a Spanish policy began to be formed.
The new minister, son of a provincial notary,
had been carefully educated ; following his father's
profession, he became one of the ablest advocates
of his day, and attained administrative distinction.
1 Montmorin to Vergennes, Madrid, 24 Dec. 1777.
THE ASPECT OF SPAIN. 305
In March, 1772, he went as ambassador to Rome, chap.
y^ A. V IX*
where by his intrigues Cardinal Ganganelh was > — ^ —
elected pope, and the order of the Jesuits was
abolished. He, too, controlled the choice of Ganga-
nelli's successor. Now forty-six years old, esteemed
for strong good sense and extensive information, for
prudence, personal probity, and honest intentions,
he placed his views of ambition in useful projects,
and was bent upon enlarging the commerce of
Spain, and making the kingdom respected. A de-
voted Catholic, he was equally "a good defender
of regality;"^ he restrained the exorbitant claims
of the church, and w\as no friend to the Inquisi-
tion. Much given to reflection, he was cold and
excessively reserved; a man of few w^ords, though
his words were to the purpose. Feebleness of
health unfitted him for indefatigable labor, and
was perhaps one of the causes why he could not
bear contradiction, nor even hear a discussion with-
out fretting himself into a passion. To his inter-
course with foreign powers he brought something
of duplicity and crafty cunning. Like Grimaldi, he
professed the greatest regard for the interests and
welfare of France ; but, unlike Grimaldi, his heart
w^as the heart of a Spaniard. In his manners he
was awkward and ill at ease. He spoke French
with difficulty. For the fire and haughtiness of
a grandee, he had the vanity of a man of con-
siderable powers, who from a humble station had
reached the highest under the king; and he clung
1 " Un buon rejialista : " the de- the church sides with the crown : a
scription of Florida Blanca by his class of politicians never known in
king. A "reaa'ista" is one who in Enjrland, after the reign of Henry
the contests between the crown and the Eighth.
26*
306 AlVIERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
xlaf' *^ office with tenacity. His character and qualities
^ — V — ' and unfailing subservience were exactly fitted to
* fasten his influence on Charles the Third, and his
supremacy continued to the end of the reign. But
for the present, his natural slowness of decision was
increased by his inexperience.
By far his ablest colleague, and perhaps the
ablest statesman of Spain, was Galvez, the minister
for the Indies, that is, for the colonies. Like
Florida Blanca, he had been taken from the class
of advocates. The experience derived from a
mission to Mexico had made him familiar with the
business of his department, to which he brought
honesty and most laborious habits, a lingering
prejudice in favor of the system of commercial
monopoly, and the purpose to make the Spanish
colonies self-supporting both for production and de-
fence.
On entering upon office, Florida Blanca was met
at the threshold by the question of the aspect of
the American revolution on the interests of Spain ;
and as Arthur Lee was already on his way to
Madrid, it seemed to demand an immediate solu-
tion. But a court which venerated the crown
eqvially with the cross could not sanction a rebel-
lion of subjects against their sovereign. Next,
Spain was of all the maritime powers the largest
possessor of colonial acquisitions ; and how could
its government concede the principle of a right in
colonies to claim independence ? And how could
it give an example to England and the world of
interference in behalf of such independence ? More-
over, the rising state was a republic; and in addi-
THE ASPECT OF SPAIN. 307
tion to their fixed abhorrence of the repubhcan chap.
XVII.
principle, the Spanish ministers foreboded danger to v,^v^
their own possessions from the example, from the ^*"'^*
strength, and from the ambition of the Americans,
whom they feared to see cross the AUeghanies
and prepare to contest with them the Mississippi.
Whatever might betide, the Spanish government
would never consent to become the ally of the
insurgents, and would never harbor any sympathy
with their purpose of independence.
Add to this that an American alliance involved a
war with. England, and that Spain was unprepared
for war. Equal to Great Britain in the number
of her inhabitants, greatly surpassing that island
in the extent of her home territory and her colo-
nies, she did not love to confess or to perceive
her inferiority in w^ealth and power. Her colonies
brought her no opulence, for their commerce,
which was soon to be extended to seven ports,
then to tw^elve, and then to nearly all, was still
confined to Cadiz ; the annual exports to Spanish
America had thus far fallen short of four mill-
ions of dollars in value, and the imports were
less than the exports. Campomanes was urging
through the press the abolition of restrictions on
trade ; but for the time the delusion of mercan-
tile monopoly held the ministers fast bound. The
serious strife with Portugal had for its purpose
the occupation of both banks of the river La
Plata, that so the mighty stream might be sealed
up against all the world but Cadiz. As a neces-
sary consequence, Spanish shipping received no
'levelopment ; and though the king constructed
308 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
XVII
1T77.
OHAp. ships of the line and frigates, he could have no
efficient navy, for want of proper nurseries of sea-
men. The war department was in the hands of
an indolent chief, so that its business devolved on
O'Reilly, whose character is known to us from
his career in Louisiana, and whose arrogance and
harshness were revolting to the Spanish nation.
The revenue of the kingdom fell short of twenty-
one millions of dollars, and there was a notorious
want of probity in the management of the finances.
In such a state of its navy, army, and treasury,
how could it make war on England ?
The aged king wished to finish his reign in
unbroken tranquillity ; Florida Blanca and Galvez
saw that Spain was not in a condition to em-
broil itself with the greatest maritime power of
the day : unreserved assurances of a preference
for peace were given to the British minister at
Madrid, and repeated by the Spanish embassy in
London, and it was declared that an American
emissary should not be allowed to appear in
Madrid. A letter was sent to stop Arthur Lee
at Burgos, where he must wait for Grimaldi, who
was on his way to Italy. They met^ on the
fourth of March, with Gardoqui as interpreter,
for Lee could speak nothing but English. Gri-
maldi, who describes him as an obstinate man,
amused him with desultory remarks and pro-
fessions: the relation between France and Spain
was intimate ; the Americans would find at New
Orleans three thousand barrels of powder and some
1 I have, in MS., Arthur Lee's Grimalfli's account at second-hand,
own account of the interview, and also in MS.
THE ASPECT OF SPAIN. 309
store of clothing, which they might take on credit; chap.
Spain would perhaps send them a well-freighted ^ — ^ — '
ship from Bilbao; but the substance of the inter- *''"''''•
view was, that Lee must return straight to Paris,
and wait there for instructions to Aranda, which
instructions were never to come. At Madrid,
Florida Blanca, even though it implied a censure
of the court of France, repeatedly made a merit
with the British government of having refused
to receive an American emissary. "All attempts
of the like kind from agents of the rebellious
colonies will be equally fruitless : " so spoke Flor-
ida Blanca to the British minister again and again
" in the strongest manner ; " " his catholic majesty
is resolved not to interfere in any manner in the
dispute concerning the colonies ; " " it is and has
been my constant opinion, that the independence
of America would be the worst example to other
colonies, and would make the Americans the worst
neighbors, in every respect, that the Spanish colo-
nies could have."^ In all this there is no room to
doubt that he was sincere ; for the report of the
French ambassador at Aranjuez is explicit, " that
it was the dominant wish of the catholic king to
avoid war, that he longed above all things to end
his days in peace."'''
Yet the Spanish court was irresistibly drawn
tpwards the alliance with France, though the con-
flict of motives gave to its policy an air of uncer-
tainty, weakness, and dissimulation. Its boundless
1 Letters in cipher from Lord 2 D'Ossun to Verjrennes, 15 May,
Grantham to Viscount Weymouth, 1777. Compare Flassan, Histoire
17 March, 20 March, and 2G May, Generale de la Diplomatie Fran-
1777, and many others. caise, vii. 177, note.
310 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CH^p. colonial claims had led to disputes with England for
' — >r^' one hundred and seventy years, that is, from the
time when Englishmen planted a colony in the
Chesapeake bay, which Spain had discovered, and
named, and marked as its own bay of Saint Mary's.
It was now perpetually agitated by a morbid and
extravagant, though not wholly unfounded jealousy
of the good faith of British ministries ; and it lived
in constant dread of sudden aggression from a
power w^ith which it knew itself unable to cope
alone. This instinctive fear and this mortified pride
gave a value to the protecting friendship of France,
and excused the wish to see the pillars of Eng-
land's greatness overthrown. Besides, the occupa-
tion of Gibraltar by England made every Spaniard
her enemy. To this were added the obligations of
the family compact between the two crowns, of
which Charles the Third, even while eager for a
continuance of peace, was scrupulous to respect
the conditions and to cherish the spirit.
Hence the government of Spain, treading stealth-
ily in the footsteps of France, had, under the ad-
ministration of Grimaldi, given money to the insur-
gents, but only on the condition that France should
be its almoner and that its gifts should be shrouded
in impenetrable secrecy. It neglected or reproved
the hot zeal with which Aranda counselled war ;
it still suffered American ships, and even privateers
wdth their prizes, to enter its harbors; but it as-
sured England that everything which could justly
be complained of was done in contravention of its
orders ; and it listened wdth interest to the vague
and delusive proposition of that power for a gen-
THE ASPECT OF SPAIN. 311
eral disarming.^ Fertile in shifts and subterfuges, chap.
Florida Blanca sought to avoid on either hand a >^ — r— *
frank, ultimate, irrevocable decision, and evaded ^'^'^*'
everything like an agreement for an eventual war
with Great Britain. His first escape from the im-
portunity of France was by a counter proposition
for the two powers to ship large reenforcements to
their colonies : a proposition which Vergennes re-
jected,^ because sending an army to the murderous
climate of Saint Domingo would involve all the
mortality and cost of a war, with none of its ben-
efits. Florida Blanca next advised to let Britain
and her insurgents continue their struggle till both
parties should be exhausted, and so should invite
the interposition of France and Spain as mediators,
who would then be able in the final adjustment to
take good care of their respective interests.^ To
this Vergennes could only reply that he knew not
how the acceptance of such a mediation could be
brought about^ and in July he unreservedly fixed
upon January or February, 1778, as the epoch
when the two crowns must engage in the war, or
have only to regret forever the opportunity which
they would have neglected.*
1 Vergennes to D'Ossun, 28 Feb- 3 Florida Blanca to De Aranda,
ruary, 1777. MS. 7 April, 1777. D'Ossun to Ver-
8 D'Ossun to Vergennes, 31 gennes, 8 May, 1777. MSS.
March, 1777. Montmorin to Ver- 4 Memojre communique au roi, le
gennes, 23 December, 1777. MSS. 23 Juillet, 1777. MS.
CHAPTER XVIII.
ENGLAND PREPARES FOR THE CAIMPAIGN OF 1777.
January — May, 1777.
CHAP. The year 1777 opened with a declared division
v,^.,^ of opinion in the British ministry on the conduct
1777. Qf ii^Q war; Lord North formally^ proposed to his
friends in pariiament, as his system, the restoration
of America to the condition of 1763. The tardy
avowal was followed by an intrigue of some of
his colleagues to eject him from the cabinet ; and
though the intrigue failed, the policy of the Bed-
ford party w^as still paramount.
The conduct of the war on the side of Canada
was left entirely to Lord George Germain ; the
chief command and the planning of the next cam-
paign within -the United States remained with
Howe, who was strong in the support of Lord
North and the king.
1 Lord North's Address in the uary, 1777. Compare Colonel Wal-
Public Advertiser of 24 January, cott's report to Howe, 11 March,
1777. Noailles to Vergennes, Jan- 1777. MS.
ENGLAND TR-EPARES FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 313
^very effort was made to gain recruits for the cttap.
army and navy. Threats and promises were used vJ^-^
to induce captive American sailors to enlist in the ^''^'^''^'
British service. " Hang me, if you will, to the
yard-arm of your ship, but do not ask me to be-
come a traitor to my country," was the answer of
Nathan Coifin,^ and it expressed the spirit of them
all.'^ In February, Franklin and Deane proposed
to Stormont, at Paris, to exchange a hundred Brit-
ish seamen, taken by Wickes, of the " Reprisal,"
for an equal number of the American prisoners in
England. To this first application Stormont was
silent; to a more earnest remonstrance, in April,
he answered : " The king's ambassador receives no
applications from rebels unless they come to im-
plore his majesty's mercy."
For land forces, the hopes of the ministers rested
mainly on the kinglings of Germany. The petty
prince of Waldeck collected for the British service
twenty men from his own territory and its neigh-
borhood, twenty-three from Suabia, near fifty else-
where, in all eighty-nine; and to prevent their
desertion, locked them up in the Hanoverian for-
tress of Hameln. It was the cue of the hereditary
prince of Cassel to talk of difficulties and impossi-
bilities, that he might gain a still greater claim on
British gratitude and treasure for exceeding all
expectations. He had a troublesome competitor in
his own father, whose agents were busy in all the
environs of Hanau ; nevertheless he furnished ninety-
one recruits, and four hundred and sixty-eight ad-
1 MS. communication from C. H. 2 Noailles to Vergennes, 14 Feb-
Marshall of New Yoik. ruary, 1777. MS.
VOL. IX. 27
314 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, ditional yagers, which was fiflj-six more than, he
A. V 111*
— ^^ had bargained for.
In Hesse-Cassel the favor of Schlieffen, the min-
ister, was secured by repeated gifts of money ;
after which the recall of Heister was peremptorily
demanded. " The king is determined upon it," were
Suffolk's words. No reasons were given, but the
British government had feared that foreign gen-
erals might be too " regardful of the preservation
of the troops under their command," and in advance
had offered rewards in money to such of them as
should be found compliant;' Howe had wished for
no foreign officers, except captains and subalterns,
and failing in this, he had pledged himself, at any
rate, " to gain all the service he could from troops
who might avoid the loss of men."^ Heister was a
meritorious veteran officer, anxious in his respon-
sibility for the troops under his charge, and unapt
to favor a disproportionate consumption of them.
For no better reason, he was superseded by Knyp-
hausen ; and he returned to his country only to
die of the wound inflicted on his military pride.
The land w^hose sons he would have spared, was
drained of men, and extraneous recruits were ob-
tained slowly ; yet in the course of the year, by
force, impressment, theft of foreigners, and other
means, it furnished of recruits and yagers fourteen
hundred and forty-nine. But this number, of which
more than half were yagers, barely made good the
losses in the campaign and at Trenton; a putrid
epidemic, which at the end of the winter broke out
1 Suffolk to Faucitt, 12 Febru- 8 General Howe to Lord George
ary, 1776. MS. Germain, 25 April, 1776. MS.
ENGLAND PREPARES FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 315
among the Hessian grenadiers at Brunswick, in chap.
eit'-ht weeks swept away more than three hundred — r-^
• 1777
as able men as ever stood in the ranks of an army,
and their places were not supplied.
The duke of Brunswick behaved the most shab-
bily of all. Of the men whom he offered, Faucitt
writes : " I hardly remember to have ever seen such
a parcel of miserable, ill-looking fellows collected
toii-ether." Two hundred and twenty-two were with
difficulty culled out and accepted ; and even these
were far from being wholly fit for service.
The margrave of Brandenburg-Anspach, nephew
of Frederic of Prussia, a kinsman of George the
Third of England, expressed his eager desire to
enter into the trade in soldiers; and on very mod-
erate terms he furnished two regiments of twelve
hundred men, beside a company of eighty-five ya-
gers, all of the best quality, unsurpassed in any
service, tall, neatly clad, handling their bright and
faultless arms with dexterity, spirit, and exactness.
The margrave readily promised that they should
receive the full British pay, and kept his engage- ■
ments with exceptional scrupulousness.
In the former year a free passage had every-
where been allowed to the subsidized troops; the
enlightened mind of Germany, its scholars, its phi-
losophers, its poets, had not yet openly revolted at
the hiring of its sons to recruit armies for a war
waged against the rights of man ; but the universal
feeling of its common people w^as a perpetual per-
suasion against enlistments, and an incentive to
desertion. The subsidized princes sought for men
outside of their own lands, and forced into the
316 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
xvm* ^^^^^^® ^^^ merely vagabonds and loose fellows of
' — Y — ' all kinds, but any unprotected traveller or hind
■ on whom they could lay their hands. The British
agents became sensitive to the stories that were
told of them, and to " the excessive defamation "
which they encountered. The rulers of the larger
states felt the dignity of the empire insulted.
Frederic of Prussia never disguised his disgust.
The court of Vienna concerted with the elector
of Mentz and the elector of Treves to throw a
slur on the system. At Mentz, the yagers of
Hanau who came first down the Rhine were
stopped, and eight of them rescued by the elec-
tor's order as his subjects or soldiers. From the
troops of the landgrave of Hesse eighteen were
removed by the commissaries of the ecclesiastical
prince of Treves. At Coblentz, Metternich, the
active young representative of the court of Vienna,
in the name of Maria Theresa and Joseph the
Second, reclaimed their subjects and deserters.
Still more formidable was the rankling dis-
* content of the enlisted men. The regiments of
Anspach could not be trusted to carry ammu-
nition or arms, but were driven on by a com-
pany of trusty yagers well provided with both,
and ready to nip a mutiny in the bud. Yet
eighteen or twenty succeeded in deserting. When
the rest reached their place of embarkation at
Ochsenfurt on the Main, the regiment of Bayreuth
began to march away and hide themselves in some
vineyards. The yagers, who were all picked marks-
men, were ordered to fire among them, by which
some of them were killed. They avenged them-
ENGLAND PREPARES FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 317
selves by putting a yager to death. The mar- chap.
grave of Anspach, summoned by express, rode to — y — •
the scene in the greatest haste, leaving his watch
on his table, and without a shirt to change. He
who by the superstitions of childhood and hallowed
traditions was their land's father stood before them.
The sight overawed them. They acknowledged
their fault, and submitted to his severe reprimands.
Four of them he threw into irons, and ordered all
to the boats. Instead of the yagers, he in person
assumed the office of driver ; marched them through
Mentz in defiance of the elector; administered the
oath of fidelity to the king of England at Nym-
wegen; and the land's father never left his post till,
at the end of March, in the presence of Sir Joseph
Yorke, his children, whose service he had sold,^ were
delivered by him in person on board the British
transports at S'cravendell. " The margrave went
through every detail, brought the men on board
himself, went through the ships with them, marked
their beds, gave out every order which was recom-
mended to him, and saw it executed, with but lit-
tle assistance, indeed, from his own officers in the
beginning, though they soon grew better recon-
ciled."
The whole number of recruits and reenforce-
ments obtained from Germany amounted to no
more than thirty-five hundred and ninety-six. It
is noticeable, that they all came from Protestant
1 Rainsford to Secretary SufTolk, hijjhness has shown, without which
28 March, 1777 ;" The margrave ac' we should have met with insur-
companied them from Ochsenfurt. mountable difhculties." Compare
It is imj)08-!ible to express the zeal Sir Joseph Yorke to Secretary
and personal trouble his serene Suffolk, 1 April, 1777. MSS.
27*
318 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, principalities; for the landgrave of Hesse, though
v^^^^ a Roman convertite, can hardly pass for a Cath-
1TT7. ^jj^j prince. Besides, the British government from
its constitution preferred the employment of Protr
estants in the army, as well as in all other depart-
ments.
A large contribution had been expected from the
duke of Wirtemberg, who had been in England
in search of a contract; and his agent in London
offered three thousand men. At Stuttgart, alluring
civilities were lavished on the British envoy ; but
he was on his guard. The duke, who confidently
renewed his offer, had for many years given him-
self so exclusively to effeminate amusements, that
every branch of his government had fallen into
decay. He had neither money nor credit. Almost
the whole of his regiments were but the wrecks of
the last war, too decrepit and stiff for further ser-
vice ; the few effective men were watching a chance
to desert, for he had cheated them out of their
bounty on enlisting, left their pay in arrears, and
forced them to remain after their engagement had
expired. " The inability of the duke to supply any
troops was soon discovered, and the idea, though
not without great disappointment, laid aside." The
British ministers searched Germany far and near
for more men ; " but the Catholic princes of the
empire seemed to wish to discourage the service ; " ^
and the kino^ of Prussia set himself ao:ainst it with
his advice. The excellent little army of the duke
of Saxe-Gotha was coveted in vain ; the landgrave
of Darmstadt was too fond of his soldiers to let
1 Sir Joseph Yorke to Secretary Suffolk, 1 April, 1777.
ENGLAND PREPARES FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 319
them go out of his sight; there was no hope but citap.
from the half-crazy prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, and with ^^ — y — '
him the king's ambassador at the Hague opened a
correspondence. The young profligate caught with
avidity at the overture, which found him engaged
with three other princes of his family on a hunt-
inn- expedition. They had billeted six hundred
(\o[X^ upon the citizens of Dessau ; entranced by
the occasion, he wrote in strange French : " Beau-
tiful garrison ! and at the first sound of the whip
or the hunting-horn, this rabble came together
like troops at the beat of the drum. Devil! if
we could run down the 'Ameriquains' like that,
it would not be bad."^ He did not know that
the wild huntsman of revolution was soon to wind
his bugle, and run down these princely dealers in
men.
In narrating these events, I have followed exclu-
sively the letters and papers of the princes and
ministers who took part in the transactions. They
prove the law, which all induction confirms, that
the transmission of uncontrolled power, visiting the
sins of the fathers upon the children, inevitably
develops corruptness and depravity. Despotic power
of man over man is what no succession of genera-
tions can be trusted with ; it brings a curse on
whatever family receives it.
All the German levies except the Brunswick
and Hanau recruits and four companies of Hanau
^ "QiiatreFieresh Dessau avoient hloit comme los Troupes au coup de
entre eux plus de 600 chieus par Tambour. Diable ! si on [)onvoit
force loger ch^s les Bourgeois de courir les Anie'ri<iuains cotnme cela,
Dessau, ht'lle jiaruison ! et au pre- ce ne seroit pas mauvais ; niais il
niier Coup de Fouet ou de Cors de faut des Troupes." Prince Auhalt-
Chasse, cette Canaille se rasseui- Zerbst to Sir Joseph Yorke.
320 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, yagers, which went to Quebec, were used to reen
1T7T.
force the army under Howe. From Great Britain
and Ireland, the number of men who sailed for
New York before the end of the year was three
thousand two hundred and fifty-two ; for Canada,
was seven hundred and twenty-six.
This scanty supply of troops was eked out by
enlistments in America, in which numerous and
ever increasing recruiting stations for the British
army were established. In this undertaking, Tryon
was the favorite general officer of Germain ; but
offers for raising regiments were accepted by HoweJ
from every one whose success seemed probable.
As leaders in the work, De Lancey of New York
and Cortland Skinner of New Jersey were ap-
pointed brigadiers; and in a few months, the for-
mer had enlisted about six hundred, the latter
more than five hundred men. In the course of
the winter, commissions were issued for embodying i
thirteen battalions, to be composed of six thousand
five hundred men; and already in May more than]
half the promised complement was obtained. Loyal-
ists repeatedly boasted, that as many soldiers from
the states were taken into the pay of the crown as
of the continental congress ; and the boast, though
grossly exaggerated, had some plausible foundation.
But of those in the United States who entered the
service of the king only a small proportion were
Americans. The service of two thousand French
Canadians was called for and expected.
The remaining deficiency was to be supplied by
the employment of the largest possible number of
savages. To this Germain gave his closest personal
EiJGLAND PREPARES FOR THE CAIMPAIGN OF 1777. 321
attention, issuino; his instructions with eaojer zeal and chap.
XVIII.
ahuost ludicrous minuteness of detail. Nor did he - ^^
act alone; "after considering every information that ^'^'^^'
could be furnished, the king gave particular direc-
tions for every part of the disposition of the forces
in Canada." ^ It was their hope to employ bands
of wild warriors along all the frontier. Carleton
had checked their excesses by placing them under
agents of his own appointment, and by confining
them within the limits of his own command. His
scruples gave offence, and all his merciful precau-
tions were swept away. The king's peremptory
orders were sent to the northwest, to " extend
operations ; " and among those whose " inclination
for hostilities " was no more to be restrained, were
enumerated " the Ottawas, the Chippewas, the
Wyandots, the Shawnees, the Senecas, the Dela-
wares, and the Potawatomies." ^ Joseph Brant,
the Mohawk, returned from his interview with the
secretary, to rouse the fury of his countrymen, and
to make them clamor for war under leaders of
their own, w^ho would indulge them in their ex-
cesses and take them wherever they wished to go.
Humane British and German officers in Canada
were alarmed at the crowds of red men w^ho were
ready to take up the hatchet, but only in their own
way, foresaw and deplored the effects of their un-
restrained and useless cruelty, and from such allies
1 Lord Gt'orpre Germain in his 2 Lord George Germain to Sir
letter to Sir Guy Carlelon, 26 July, Guy Carleton, 26 March, 1777.
1777, attributes his directions to the MS.
kinjr. MS.
17T7.
322 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
xvtiL augured no good to the service.^ But the policy of
Gennain was unexpectedly promoted by the release
of La Corne Saint Luc, who came in advance to
meet his Welshes. This most ruthless of partisans
was now in his sixty-sixth year, but full of vigor
and animal spirits, and only more passionate and
relentless from age. He had vowed eternal ven-
geance on " the beggars " who had kept him
captive. He stood ready to pledge his life and his
honor, that, within sixty days of his landing at
Quebec, he would lead the Indians to the neigh-
borhood of Albany. His w^ords were : " We must
let loose the savages upon the frontiers of these
scoundrels, to inspire terror, and to make them
submit ; " and his promises, faithfully reported to
Germain, w^on favor to the leader who above all
others was notorious for brutal inhumanity.^
Relying on his Indian mercenaries to spread such
terror by their raids as to break up the communica-
tions between Albany and Lake George, the secre-
tary, in concert with Burgoyne, drew out in fullest
particularity the plan of the northern campaign.
They both refused to admit the possibility of any
insurmountable obstacle to the triumphant march of
the army from Canada to Albany and New York.
To put success beyond all doubt, Saint Leger was
selected by the king to conduct an expedition by
way of Lake Ontario for the capture of Fort Stan-
wix and the Mohawk valley ; the regular troops
that w^ere to form his command were precisely
1 Riedesel's MS. journal, written 2 Governor Tryon to Secretary
for the duke of Brunswick. Germain, 9 April, 1777. MS.
ENGLAND PREPARES FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 323
specified, and orders were given for the thousand 5vm*
savajfes who were to serve with him to rally at — r^-'
XSiagara.
Such were the preparations of which Germain
ppoke with assurance to the house of commons
as sufficient to finish the war in the approaching
campaign. When he heard of the disasters at Tren^
ton and Princeton, and the evacuation of New Jer-
sey, he wisely concluded that Howe ought to be
removed, designing to intrust the army in Canada
to Sir Henry Clinton, and the chief command in
New York to Burgoyne, who was seeking his " pat-
ronage and friendship" by assurances of "a solid
respect and sincere personal attachment." But the
king withheld his consent ; Howe was therefore left
to conduct his part of the campaign according to
his own suggestions ; and Burgoyne, with a full
knowledge of what was expected of him, ardently
undertook the expedition from Canada.
As war measures, parliament in February author-
ized the grant of letters of permission to private
ships to make prizes of American vessels ; and by
an act which described American privateersmen as
pirates, it suspended the writ of habeas corpus w^th
regard to prisoners taken on the high seas.
The congress of the United States had neither
credit, nor power to tax; it vainly proposed a lot-
tery, and sought a loan in Europe ; and after all
it fell back upon issues of more paper money:
liord North had for his supplies new taxes, new
exchequer bills, a profitable lottery, new excise
duties, a floating debt of five millions sterling, and
177T.
324 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
xvtu.' ^ ^ORii of five millions more. The timid feared the
swift coming of national bankruptcy; but the re-
sources of England grew faster than the most hope-
ful anticipated ; and while the rising influence of
the people saved her liberties, the labors, inven-
tions, and discoveries of plebeian genius, of Wedg-
wood, Watt, Arkwright, Harrison, Brindley, restored
and increased her wealth faster than her aristocratic
government could waste it away.
Public opinion still supported the government,
under the hope of a speedy end of the war.
The clergy w^ere foremost in zeal ; in a sermon
before the Society for propagating the Gospel,
Markham, the archbishop of York, not doubting
the conquest of the colonies, recommended a re-
construction of their governments on the principle
of complete subordination to Great Britain.
Some voices in England pleaded for the Ameri-
cans. The war wdth them, so wrote Edmund
Burke to the sheriffs of Bristol, is "fruitless, hope-
less, and unnatural ; " and the Earl of Abingdon
added, "on the part of Great Britain, cruel and
unjust." " Our force," replied Fox to Lord North,
"is not equal to conquest, and America cannot be
brought over by fair means w^iile we insist on
taxins: her." Burke harbored a wish to cross the
channel and seek an interview wiih Franklin;
but the friends of Rockingham disapproved the
idea. Near the end of April, Hartley went to
Paris as an informal agent, to speak with Franl^-
lin of peace and reunion ; and received for answer,
that England could never conciliate the Americans
ENGLAND PREPARES FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 325
but b3' conceding their independence. "We are Z^/}^-
the aggressors," said Chatham, on the thirtieth of ^^> —
May, in the house of lords ; " instead of exact-
ing unconditional submission from the colonies, we
ought to grant them unconditional redress. Now
is the crisis, before France is a party. Whenever
France or Spain enter into a treaty of any sort
with America, Great Britain must immediately de-
clare war against them, even if we have but five
ships of the line in our ports; and such a treaty
must and will shortly take place, if pacification be
delayed."
This advice of Chatham was rejected by the vote
of nearly four fifths of the house. But with all her
resources, England labored under insuperable dis-
advantages. She had involved herself in the con-
test by a violation of the essential principle of
English liberty ; and her chief minister wronged his
own convictions in continuing the war. It began,
moreover, to be apparent, that France would join
in the struggle, if it should extend beyond one
more campaign.
NOTE.
The wishes of the king and Lord George Germain for the employment
of Indians were not approved by Genecal Carleton or General Howe or
Riedesel, or by Stuart, the Indian agent for the southern departnient;
from Major-General William Tryon, late governor of North Carolina
and of New York, they met with a hearty response, as appt-ars from
the following letter, which is printed, as nearly as possible, just as it
■was written, without change either in the French or the English of
its author.
VOL. IX. 28
S26 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. P"^*^*® Nw Ywk 9 Apl. 1777
jy^ My Lord,
1 7 7 T . I have had many conversations with Mons. La Corne St. Luc, lately
e^haSd ^^^^ ^'^ Captivity with the Rebels. We agree perfectly in
sentiments respecting the propriety & importance of employing the In-
dians. He is anxious to take the command of as many Canadians &
Indians, as S"^ Guy Carleton will Entrust him with & will pledge his life
& honor that he will raise them & be in the environs of Albany in sixty
days atl:er he lands at Quebec, for which Port he sails with other Cana-
dian Gentlemen the first fair wind. His expressions were emphatical.
*' II faut, dit il, lacher les sauvages sur les frontieres de ces Canals, pour
" imposer des terreurs, et pour les faire soumetre, au pied de la Throne
" de sa Majesty Britannic. II faut absolument mettre tous dehors, pour
" finir la Guerre cet Ete. Les Rebels- commence a se guerrier, et si la
*' guerre continue plus long terns que cett' annee, il sera tres facheuse
" pour toute L'Empire. Pour soi-meme il m'a assure, qu'il ne voudroit
^^ jama ui, jamais y (jusfju'a ce que son ame Bat dans sons Corps, et le Sang
*' coule dans ses Veines,) oublier les injures, et les Insults qu'il a recue
*' de ces gueux " These were his expressions ; and though in the
sixty sixth year of his age is in the vigour of health & animal spirits.
A Pension or Salary of 500 pr ann. with some Distinction among the
savages to La Corne St Luc would I am persuaded be productive of the
best consequences to Govt at this Period — S' VV'" Johnson was not an
abler Partizan than St Luc for Indian services.
I am respectfully
Your Lordship's faithfull & ob^' hum'* Sert
W** Tryon.
Ld Geo. Germain
received 8 May 1777
CHAPTER XIX.
AMERICA BEFORE THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN.
March — May, 1777.
Sir William Howe, while as yet he had gained chap.
nothing but New York with its environs, asked for vj..^
a reenforcement of no more than fifteen thousand ^'^'^'^
men, with which he was to recover a country more
than a thousand miles long. On the acquisition
of Aquidneck island, and of New Jersey as far as
Trenton, he led Lord George Germain to believe
that the capture of Philadelphia would bring back
the people of Pennsylvania to their allegiance.
After the defeat at Trenton, he owned his need
of twenty thousand men, and saw no speedy ter-
mination of the war but by a general action ; but
he bore his mishaps very lightly, and waited in in-
dolence for a reply to his requisition.
During the interval, attempts at a pacification were
renewed. General Charles Lee, for whom congress
and Washington most tenderly intervened, sending
him money, threatening retaliation if he were to be
328 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, treated as a deserter, and offering six Hessian field-
' — r — ' officers for his exchange, escaped from danger by a
way of his own. Imprisoned as a deserter, with a
halter in view, he did what two years before those
who knew him best had foretold : ^ he deserted
back again. Assuring his captors that independence
was declared against his advice, he volunteered to
negotiate the return of the colonies to their old
allegiance. With the sanction of the Howes, on
Feb. the tenth of February he addressed to congress a fl
written request that two or three gentlemen might
be sent to him immediately to receive his commu-
nication ; and in private letters he conjured his
friends Rush, Robert Morris, and Richard Henry
Lee, " to urge the compliance with his request, as
of the last importance to himself and to the public."
In congress it was argued, that a deputation for
the manifest purpose of negotiation would spread
through the country and Europe the idea that
they were preparing to return to their old cormec-
tion with England ; and therefore, on the twenty-
first, they, with warm expressions of sympathy, and
with the greatest unanimity, resolved that " it was
altogether improper to send any of their body to
communicate with him." There were not wanting
men in the army who "not only censured him
bitterly, but even insinuated that he was treacher-
ous." ^
The British commissioners, having failed in their
attempt on congress, looked next to Washington.
The unhappy American captives had been locked
1 F. Moore's Loyalist Poetry of 2 Shaw to Eliot, 4 March, 1777.
the Revolution, 128.
AMERICA BEFORE THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN. 329
up in close and crowded hulks and prisons, breath- citap.
ing a pestilential air, wretchedly clothed, ill supplied w-^-^
with fuel or left without it, and receiving a scanty ^^'^'^'
allowance of provisions, and those of a bad quality;
<o that when they came out they w^ere weak and
feverish, unfit for service, and in many cases sinking
under fatal maladies. Men in that condition Wash-
ington was willing to accept on parole ; but he
refused to exchange for them able-bodied soldiers,
who had been well fed and cared for during their
captivity. The subject w^as referred on the part
of Howe to Lieutenant-Colonel Walcott, on the
part of Wjishington to Lieutenant-Colonel Harrison.
On the eleventh of March, durino- a fruitless inter- March
11.
view of nine hours, Walcott, speaking under in-
structions from Howe, took occasion to say to
Harrison : " What should hinder you and me, or
rather what should prevent General Washington,
who seems to have the power in his hands, from
making peace betw^een the two countries?" Har-
rison replied: "The commissioners have no other
powers than what they derive under the act of
parliament by which they are appointed." " Oh,"
said Walcott, " neither you nor I know their powers.
Suppose General Washington wrote to know them?
The minister has said in the house of commons, he
is willing to place the Americans as they were in
1763; suppose Washington should propose this, re-
nouncing the absurd idea of independence, which
would be your ruin?" "Why do you refuse to
treat with congress?" said Harrison. "Because,"
answered Walcott, "it is unknown as a legal as-
sembly to both countries. But it would be worth
28*
330 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. Washington's while to try to restore peace." With-
out a moment's hesitation, Harrison put aside the
overture.^
Eight days after this rebuff, Lee once more con-
jured congress to send two or three gentlemen
to converse with him on subjects " of great impor-
tance, not only to himself, but to the community
he so sincerely loved." The letter was received
28. in Philadelphia on the twenty-eighth. Men asked :
" What has Lee been after of late, suffering him-
self to be made a paw by the Howes?" John
Adams was indignant. On the twenty-ninth, con-
gress coldly resolved, " that they still judged it
improper to send any of their members to confer
with General Lee."
This vote of congress fell upon the day on
which Lee signalized his perfidy b}^ presenting to
Lord and General Howe an elaborate plan for
reducing the Americans.^ These are some of his
words: "I think myself bound in conscience to
furnish all the lights I can to Lord and General
Howe. I shall most sincerely and zealously con-
tribute all in my power to an accommodation. To
bring matters to a conclusion, it is necessary to
unhinge or dissolve the whole system or machine
of resistance, or, in other terms, congress govern-
ment. I assert with the penalty of my life, if the
plan is fully adopted, in less than two months from
the date of the proclamation of pardon not a spark
1 'Walcott's report to Howe. MS. had many in my hands. The merit
2 I have seen the paper : it is in of discoverinjr the plan belongs to
the handwritinfi of Lee ; the indorse- Georjre H. Moore, the author of
mt'nt is in the handwriting of Henry The Treason of Charles Lee
Strachey, of whose letters 1 have
AMERICA BEFORE THE OPENING OF THE C.VIVIPAIGN. 331
of this desolatinf? war remains unextinguished in chap.
XIX.
any part of the continent." At the same time he
wrote to Washington in forms of affection, and ^^1,^^.1/
asked commiseration as one whom congress had
wronged. The pUin of Lee, who advised to retain
New Jersey and advance to Philadelphia by land,
was treated with neglect by the British comman-
ders ; it has no historical importance, except as it
irrefragably convicts its author of shameless hypo-
crisy and the most treasonable intention.
Notwithstanding an order from the minister to
ship Lee to Great Britain, he remained in Amer-
ica; the government was assured by Sir Joseph
Yorke, who understood him well, that his capture
was to be regretted ; " that it was impossible but
he must puzzle everything he meddled in ; that
he was the worst , present the Americans could
receive ; that the only stroke like officers which
they had struck, happened after his being made
prisoner."^ As a consequence, after some delay,
Lee was deemed a prisoner of war, and leave was
given by the king for his exchange. Meantime, he
was treated by Howe " with kindness, generos-
ity, and tenderness," and his treachery was encour-
aged ; before he was exchanged he received from
British officers, according to his own account,
eleven hundred guineas, in return, as he pre-
tended, for his drafts on England.
Just at the moment when the Howes, acting upon ^
the policy of Lord North, were aiming at reconcil-
iation by an amnesty, they received Germain's letter
of the fourteenth of January, in which their former
1 Sir Joseph Yorke to the Foreign Office, 7 March, 1777. MS.
332 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, offers of pardon were approved with a coldness which
^►^^ rebuked their clemency, and the instruction was
March' g^^^" • " ^* ^^^^ expiration of the period limited in
9. your proclamation, it will be incumbent upon you
to use the powers with which you are intrusted in
such a manner that those persons who shall have
shown themselves undeserving of the royal mercy
may not escape that punishment which is due to
their crimes, and which it will be expedient to inflict
for the sake of example to futurity." General
Howe was not sanguinary, though, from his neg-
lect, merciless cruelties were inflicted by his sub-
ordinates; Lord Howe had accepted office from real
good-will to America and England, not as the agent
25. of Germain's vengeful passions ; and on the twenty-
fifth of March, the brothers answered : " Are we
required to withhold his majesty's general pardon,
even though the withholding of such general pardon
should prevent a speedy termination of the war?"
Howe had requested a reenforcement of fifteen
thousand men, in order to move simultaneously
against New England, up the Hudson river, and
against Pennsylvania, and thus " finish the war in
one year." To that requisition the reply, written in
January, 1777, accompanied the letter to the com-
missioners. For the conquest of a continent the
demand was certainly moderate ; but Germain, form-
ing his judgment on the letters of spies and tale-
bearers, or, as he called them, "of persons well
informed on the spot," professed to think '^that
such a requisition ought not to be complied with,"
and he wrote that half that number could not by
any chance be supplied. Promising but four thou-
OlERICA BEFORE THE OPENING OF THE CAI^IPAIGN. 333
sand Germans, a larger number than was actually chap.
obtained, he insisted that Howe " would have an ^ — r-^
army of very nearly thirty-five thousand rank and
file, so that it would still be equal to his wishes;"
in otiier words, that Howe must none the less
complete the conquest of America within a twelve-
month. But with so small a reenforcement the
general would by no means have that number of
effective men. The disingenuous statement fore-
shadowed a disposition to cast upon him all blame
for any untoward events in the next campaign.
Nor could he be ignorant of Germain's desire for
his recall ; nor was he indifferent to the rising favor
of Burgoyne.
The general took counsel with his brother, and on April
the second of April despatched to the secretary the
final revision of his plan;^ "The offensive army
will be too weak for rapid success. The campaign
will not commence so soon as your lordship may
expect. Restricted as I am by the want of forces,
my hopes of terminating the war this year are
vanished." Relinquishing a principal part of what
he had formerly proposed, he announced his deter-
mination to evacuate the Jerseys, and to invade
Pennsylvania by sea. He further made known, 5
alike to Carleton and to the secretary, that the
army which was to advance from Canada would
meet "with little assistance from him."
> The plan of Howe was not af- brother, bears date April 2. Lee's
feetedby that of Lee. 1 . Lee scofffd paper is of March 29; and it is
at Howe's plan, and treated it with uncertain on what day it reached
derision; but, considering Lee's want Howe, or was read by him, or even
of verai;ity, this proves not much, if it was ever read by him. Official
2. Howe received his letters from niovemeiits were slow. 3. The plan
Germain March 9, and his answer, of Howe is not like that of Lee,
which required consultation with his which was far the best of the two.
334 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
XIX
1T77
i
CHAP. Germain b\iilt great expectations on the Indian
alliances, both in the south and the northwest,
and loved to direct minutely in what manner the
savages should be employed. Howe was backward
in engaging them, left all details to the IndiaiJl
agents, and scorned ambiguous messages, hints^
and w^hispers across the Atlantic, to lay waste th
country with indiscriminate cruelty.
Early in the year a British brigade and several
companies of grenadiers and light infantry were
recalled from Rhode Island,' and sent to Amboy.
While they w^ere on board the transport ships,
Howe came over to the quarters of Cornwallis, and
Washington apprehended that they would, without
delay and without much difficulty, march to Phila-
delphia. But Howe could never take advantage
of opportunities. In the middle of March, Wash-
ington's " whole number in Jersey fit for duty was
under three thousand, and these, nine hundred and
eighty-one excepted, w^ere militia, who stood en-
gaged only till the last of the month." The pay-
master was without money, of which the supply
was habitually tardy and inadequate. Washington
had moreover to complain of " the unfitness " of
some of his general officers.
To gain an army he saw no way so good as
the system of drafting adopted by Massachusetts, on
an equal and exact apportionment of its quota to
each town in the state ; in New Jersey, the theatre
of war, he advised that every man able to bear
arms should turn out, and that no one should be
allowed to buy off his service by a payment of
money, for, said he, "every injurious distinction be-
AI^IERIUA BEFORE THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN. 335
tween the rich and the poor ought to be laid aside chap.
now." Of the militia of New England the Brit- ^^^^^
ish commander-in-chief has left his testimony, that,
" when brought to action, they were the most
])ersevering of any in all North America ; " and
it was on the militia of those states that Wash-
ington placed his chief reliance. The anxiety about
ji supply of arms was relieved by the safe arrival
of ships freighted by Beaumarchais from the arse-
nals of France.
Reed, the former adjutant-general, never resumed
that post, though, by assertions on his honor as
disingenuous as the original ground of offence, he
recovered for a time the affection of Washincrton.
His aid as a secretary was more than made good
by Alexander Hamilton, who joined the staff of
the commander-in-chief in March, and thus obtained
the precious opportunity of becoming familiar with
the course of national affairs on the largest scale.
In the appointment of general officers congress
gave little heed to Washington. In his opinion,
there was not in the army "a more active, more
spirited, and more sensible officer" than Arnold,
the oldest brigadier; but in the promotions he was
passed over, on the pretext that Connecticut had
already two major-generals. The slight rankled in
Arnold's breast; to Washington he complained of
the wound to his " nice feelings ; " to Gates he wrote :
" By heavens ! I am a villain if I seek not
A brave revenge for injured honor."
On the first of March six new brigadiers were
appointed. Stark stood at the head of the list of
New Hampshire, and was the best officer from
336 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
^HAP. that state. He had shown himself great at Bunker
1T77.
Hill, Trenton, and Princeton ; but on the idea that
he was self-willed, he w\as passed over. Chafing at
the unworthy neglect, he retired to his freehold
and his plough, where his patriotism, like the fire
of the smithy when sprinkled with water, glowed
more fiercely than ever. i^j
Cono-ress, without consul tino; Washins^ton^ on the
appointment of his chief of staff, "earnestly solicited
Gates to reassume the office of adjutant-general with
his present rank and pay," "in confidence that he
would retrieve the state of the army, and place it j
on a respectable footing." The thought crossed his
mind to secure in the bargain^ a provision for his
own life, with an annuity on that of his wife or
son ; and as the price of his consent he actually
demanded " some thins; more than words." Wash in o;-
ton offered to welcome him back as the only means
of giving form and regularity to the new recruits;
but nothing came of the offer, for the New Eng-
land members, especially Samuel Adams, were re-
solved on raising him to the command of the
northern department.
The neglect of Washington by congress increased
in the camp the discontent which naturally rises
among officers in the clashing of their desires.
Beside the jealousies which grew^ out of the wish
for promotion, subordinate generals importuned him
for separate commands, and those who were de-
tached were apt to murmur at his suggestions, or
1 "I never even hinted it." Wash- to the President of Conirress. in the
ington to Gates. 10 March, 177 7, in New York Historical Society's li-
Washington's Writings, iv. 355. bi-ary. Gates to Congress, 28 Feb-
2 MS. draught of a letter of Gates ruary, 1777. MS.
AMERICA BEFORE THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN. 337
demand of him a supply of all their wants, never chap.
considering the limit of his resources, and never • — y-^
contented with their fair share of materials and
men. " Let me know who were your informers,"
wrote Heath on receiving a merited admonition.
Sullivan fretted at an imaginary slight, and de-
manded an explanation. "Five hundred men is all
that his excellency allows me," wrote Putnam to
congress from Princeton. Mifflin, whose ambition
was divided between a career of arms and of civil
life, showed signs of groundless complaining. Wash-
ington was surrounded by officers willing to fill the
ears of members of congress with clamor against
his management, or opinions in counteraction of
his advice.
The service had suffered from the high advance-
ment of worthless foreign adventurers, some of
whom had obtained engagements from Deane at
Paris. An eager desire to secure able veteran
officers had assisted to blind the judgment of con-
gress ; henceforward it required of claimants a
good knowledge of the English language and strong
credentials. One emigrant from northern Europe
stood conspicuous for modesty and sound judgment,
the Pole, Kosciuszko. He left his native country
from a disappointment in love; and devoting him-
self to freedom and humanity, in the autumn of
1776, he entered the American army as an officer
of engineers. This year the public service carried
him to Ticonderoga.
Before the end of March, Greene was sent to
Philadelphia to explain the pressing wants of the
army. By his suggestion, the instructions of the
VOL. IX. 29
838 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, commander-in-chief were modified : henceforward, he,
' — r^ as well as the chief officer in every department,
was permitted, not required, to consult the general
officers under him ; and it was made his duty,
regardless of the majority of voices, "finally to
direct every measure according to his own judg-
ment." The helplessness of congress appeared more
and more; with the fate of the country dependent
on the campaign, their authority did not reach be-
yond a series of recommendations "to the execu-
tive powers and legislatures of each of the United
States;" and in case voluntary enlistment should
prove insufficient, they " advised each state to cause
indiscriminate drafts to be made from their respec-
tive militia." One attempt and only one was made
to exert a temporary control over a state. The
legislature of Pennsylvania had adjourned ; the inad-
equateness of the executive authority menaced dan-
ger, "not only to the safety of the said common-
wealth, but to the general welfare of the United
States : " congress, therefore, directed its president
and council, with its army and navy boards, to
" exercise every authority to promote the safety of
the state," till the legislature could be convened ;
and they promised their own cooperation.
To the command of the forts in the Highlands
on the Hudson George Clinton was appointed
with the concurrence of New York, of congress,
and of Washington. In the northern department
the utmost confusion grew out of the rivalry be-
tween Schuyler and Gates. The former loved his
country more than his own rank or fortune ; the
thoughts of the latter centred in himself. The
AMERICA BEFORE THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN. 339
emero^ency required a general of high ability, and chap.
to such a one Schuyler would have gladly given v — ^^
way; but he was unwilling to be supplanted by an ^'^'^^'
hitriguing subordinate. Gates, who was hovering
round congress, and boasted of his repulse of Carle-
ton, refused to serve at Ticonderoga as a subordi-
nate. On the fifteenth of March, congress censured
an objurgatory letter from Schuyler; and ten days
later, without consulting the commander-in-chief,
they directed Gates " to repair immediately to Ti-
conderoga, and take command of the army there."
Elated with his advancement to an independent
command, which in importance was second only to
that of the grand army, he quickly forgot that he
had a superior ; and he took upon himself, by sturdy
and confident importunity with congress, to make a
disposition of all the troops in the service of the
United States, and to direct the movements of the
forces under Washington, as well as of his own.^ Yet
his appointment, though achieved through the New
England delegates, did not bring out the troops
from their states ; and congress found no resource
but to resolve, on the twenty-ninth of April, " that
General Washington be directed to write to the
Eastern states, from whom the troops to be em-
ployed at Ticonderoga were expected, and to re-
quest them, in the name of congress, to pursue
every means for completing and forwarding the
^ Gates to Lovell, 29 April, 1777. adopting it, unless it be to strenrjth-
MS. " Don't let the voice of party en the east side of Hudson river
divert congress from postini; their ar- more than is there laid down," &c.
my," &c. &i'. " The plan I placed &c. Compare Gates to Ilanrork,
in your hands for stationing the ar- 29 April, 1777, MS. Gates to Jay,
my u\u)u the o{K'ning of the cam- 9 May, 1777. MS.
paign, — do not be diverted from
177T.
340 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, regiments; it being the opinion of congress that
delay will be attended with the loss of that im-
portant post."
Washington, after proper inquiry, had from the
first compared Fort Independence, opposite Ticon-
deroga, on the east side of Lake Champlain, to a
mill built on a beautiful site to which water could
not be brought ; '' the enemy might pass that post
and get into Lake George, without receiving the
least annoyance ; " but congress, never distrustful
of itself and this time led by the opinions of
Schuyler, voted permission to Gates to evacuate
" Ticonderoga, on the west of Lake Champlain, and
apply his whole force to securing Fort Indepen-
dence and the water-defences of Lake George."
Seizing the opportunity of gaining an advantage
in the opinion of congress over Schuyler, he an-
swered : " I see no reason for abandoning any part
of the post;" "I am not the least apprehensive there
will be occasion to surrender one acre we possess,"^
Schuyler had been very much censured for re-
maining at Albany ; Gates, notwithstanding his ex-
plicit orders, waited two months in that city for
ordnance and stores, and announced to Washing-
ton: "I am resolved not to leave Albany, before
I see the bulk of them before me."^
Gates, who had great confidence in his own
"prophetic skill," and wished to shape every move-
ment in aid of his command, wrote to Hancock .
^ I foresee the worst of consequences from too great
a proportion of the main army being drawn into
J Gates to Conjrress, 0 !Mav, to 2 Gates to Washington, 24 May,
Lo veil, 12 Mav, 17 77. MSS. ' 1777. MS.
AMERICA BEFORE THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN. 341
XIX.
1777.
the Jerseys. Request congress in my name to order chap.
two troops of horse to Albany." ^ And congress
directed Washington to " forward, with all conven-
ient despatch, two troops of horse to General Gates."
Washington thought that the requisitions of Gates
should be made directly to himself, or that at least
he should receive a duplicate of them. But Gates
insisted on dealing directly with congress, as "the
common parent of all the American armies,"^ on
the plea that it would require less writing. To a
member he said, with a sneer at the commander-
in-chief: " I am not infected with a cacoethes scrir
hendl ; one serviceable action without doors is worth
all the pages that has been wrote since the begin-
ning of the war."^
To a petulant requisition for tents, Washington
answered with mildness, explaining why there was
a scarcity of them, and how he had distributed
military stores w^ithout partiality. At this Gates,
writing to Lovell, a New England member, his
complaints against " George Washington," and '' how
little he had to expect from him," claimed that
congress should intervene as the umpire, for this
reason : '* Generals, like parsons, are all for chris-
tening their own child first; let an impartial mod-
erating power decide betw^een us."*
But before this appeal could be received. Gates
lost his short independent command. Angry that
his department had been curtailed, Schuyler in the
1 Gates to Hancock, 29 April, 3 Gates to Lovell, 26 May, 1777.
1777. MS. Sent in duplicate to MS.
Jay, 9 May, 177 7. 4 Gates to Lovell, 25 May, 1777.
2 Gates to Washin«5ton, 13 May, MS.
J 777. MS.
29 »
342 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. ^^^Bi
^^p. second week of April took his seat in congress, to*
' — Y^^ complain in person and assert his riorht to be re-
placed. According to his stating, Ticonderoga had
been put into a strong and nearly impregnable
condition while he had the command in chief, with
Gates as his junior; his measures for the supply
and maintenance of the post were in full opera-
tion and left no doubt of its future safety, for
which he was willing to take on himself the re-
sponsibility. His opponents were powerful ; on the
third of May he announced to Washington his
intention "to resign his commission;" and Washing-
ton interposed no dissuasions. But, having Duane
as a skilful manager, instead of a resignation, he J
apologized to congress for the words that had given
offence ; a committee which had at his request in-
quired into his use of the public money relieved
him from injurious rumors ; and on the report of
the board of war, after a discussion protracted into
the fourth day, an accidental majority assured him
the undivided command of Albany, Ticonderoga,
Fort Stanwix, and their dependencies.
Schuyler accepted this command, with nothing
before him but the certainty of ill success. Nearly
half congress doubted his capacity, resisted his ap-
pointment, and desired his removal ; he misjudged
in supposing that his means for defending Ticon-
deroga were adequate ; and he had to encounter
the invincible and not wholly unreasonable aver-
sion of the New England troops. Besides, Gates
was sure to decline other employment and to re-
new his intrigues, in which he was quickened by
his family. "As your son and heir," so wrote
AMERICA BEFORE THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN. 343
his only child,^ "I entreat you not to tarnish the chap.
honor of your family." His uneasy, ambitious wife vJ->r-^
let her voice be heard: "If you give up one ^'^'^'^
iota, and condescend to be adjutant-general, I may
forgive it, but never will forget it."
This long dispute aggravated the disorder in the /
northern department; but with unselfish and untir-
ing zeal Washington strove to repair the errors
and defects of congress. From the weakness of its
powers it would justly escape reprehension, if its
members had unanimously given him their support;
but some of them indulged in open expressions of
discontent. They refused to contemplate the diffi-
culty with which he had kept " the life and soul
of his army together," or to own that he had saved
their cause, for it would have been an indirect
censure on themselves for having rejected his soli-
citations for the formation of a permanent army at
the time when such an army could have been raised.
Assuming the style of conquerors, they did not and
they would not perceive the true situation of affairs ;
they were vexed that the commander-in-chief in-
sisted on bringing it to their attention ; and as if
Washington had not adventured miracles of dar-
ing, Samuel Adams and others were habitually im-
patient for more enterprise, that the enemy might
be beaten in detail, before reenforcements should
arrive. Thus they discoursed when no men had as
yet joined him from the eastward, and there was
great danger that Howe would open the campaign
before the American army could be in any condi-
tion to oppose him. Washington bore their unjust
1 Robert Gates to his father, 6 June, 1777. MS.
344 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, reproaches with meekness and dignity, never for-
^^-r^' getting the obedience and respect that were due
to congress as his civil superior and the represen-
tative of all the states. He valued not rumors
above the public safety; this is the man who tired
out evil tongues and evil fortune, and saved his
country by boldness, constancy, and the gain of
time. Desiring the good opinion of his kind as
his sole reward, his cheerful fortitude never failed
him; and he saw in his mind that posterity was
his own.
CHAPTER XX.
THE BRITISH EVACUATE NEW JERSEY
March — July, 1777.
Of his greatly superior force the British general chap.
made little use. Stores for the American army had ^-^-r-^
been deposited at Peekskill, where, in the absence March
of Heath, Macdougall was in command of two hun-
dred and fifty men. On the twenty-third of March
the English landed in the bay with twice his num-
ber, compelling Macdougall to burn the magazine
and draw back to the hills ; but with Willett,
whom he called from Fort Constitution, he repulsed
an advanced party. The British, having completed
the work of destruction and burnt the wharf, re-
tired to their boats at evening, and under the light
of the full moon sailed down the river. The result
was of little importance; there was old wheat enough
in the state of New York to supply the army for
a year.
While Howe was wasting the spring at New
York, Cornwallis at Brunswick grew weary of in-
346 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, activity, and came out in force early in the morn-
«<— > — ' ing of the thirteenth of April to surprise Lincoln,
. . ' now a major-general, who, with five hundred men,
&. occupied Boundbrook. Through the carelessness of
the guard, he came very near effecting his design;
Lincoln by a prompt retreat gained the hill in the
rear of the town, but with the loss of two cannon,
two lieutenants, and twenty men. After a stay of
an hour and a half, the assailants returned to Bruns-
wick, and Lincoln with a stronger party reoccupied
his post.
23. On the twenty-third of April a detached corps
of eighteen hundred men, drafted from different
regiments, and a small number of dragoons, sailed
from New York, under convoy, to destroy the
stores which the Americans had collected in Dan-
bury, Connecticut, at a distance, as the roads then
ran, of more than twenty miles from the sound.
The leader of the expedition was Tryon, now a
major-general of provincials ; but Sir William Howe
very prudently appointed General Agnew and Sir
William Erskine to assist him. On Friday, the
«5. twenty-fifth, they landed at Compo, near Saugatuck
river, and, marching seven miles that evening, they
reached Danbury about three hours after noon on
Saturday. They had excellent guides, and from
the suddenness of the enterprise encountered little
opposition on the way, or at Danbury, where the
guard under Huntington was composed of but fifty
continentals and a few militia. The English, under
a heavy rain, destroyed the stores, among which
the loss of nearly seventeen hundred tents w^as
irreparable; and all night long they were busy in
THE BRITISH EVACUATE NEW JERSEY. 347
burning down the village. By this time the people chap.
hi the neighboring towns were in motion; and the < — ^^
invading party, though they returned by a different ^^Iru'
route, were compelled to retreat hastily, like the 26.
expedition to Concord in 1775.
By a quick march, Arnold and Silliman con- 2/.
fronted them on Sunday at Ridgefield with four
hundred men, while two hundred more hung on
their rear under Wooster, then in his sixty-eighth
year, who encouraged his troops by his words
and his example, and fell at . their head, mortally
"wounded, yet not till he had taken tAventy or
more prisoners. Arnold, having thrown up a bar-
rier across the road, sustained a sharp action till
the British, by their superior numbers, turned his
position. His horse being killed under him just as
the enemy were within a few yards, a soldier, see-
ing him alone and entangled, advanced on him
wath fixed bayonet; Arnold drew a pistol, shot the
soldier, and retired unhurt.
At the wane of the day the British troops, worn
out with hard service, formed themselves into an
oblong square, and lay on their arms till morning.
At daybreak on Monday they resumed their march, 28.
and were assailed from stone walls and hiding-
places. A part of Lamb's battalion of artillery,
with three companies of volunteers from New Ha-
ven and sixty continentals, were strongly posted
at the bridge over th.e Saugatuck, while Arnold
and Silliman held ground about two miles above
the bridge. The British escaped this danger only
by fording the river a mile above them all, and
running at full speed to the high hill of Compo,
348 A^IERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, within half a mile of the shipping. For three
days and nights they had had little rest, and
several of them dropped on the road from fatigue.
To protect the embarkation, Erskine put himself at
the head of the most able of the detachment and
fresh men from the ships to drive back the pur-
suers. Here Liamb was wounded ; and here Arnold
again braved the enemy's musketry and grape-
shot, and again his horse was struck, but its rider
escaped as before. The Americans could not stand
the charge of Erskine, and before night the English
set sail. The number of their killed, wounded, and
prisoners is estimated at about two hundred; the
Americans lost not half so many.
Congress, who at Washington's instance' had
elected Arnold a major-general, voted him "a
horse, caparisoned, as a token of their approbation
of his gallant conduct ; " but they refused to re-
store him to his former relative rank, so that a
sense of wrons: still rankled in his breast. Wooster
lingered a few days, and died with calmness, glori-
ously ending a long and honorable life. Congress
voted him a monument.
May The Americans had better success in a like un-
dertaking. Return Meigs of Connecticut, learning
through General Parsons that the British were
lading transports at Sag Harbor, on the east side
of the great bay of Long Island, crossed the sound
from Sachem's Head on the twenty-third of May
with two hundred continentals in whale-boats. From
1 Arnold was elected major-gen- pursuit of Try on. Many days passed
eral, May 2, before congress had before that was brought to their no-
heard of his gallant conduct in the tice.
23.
THE BRITISH EVACUATE NEW JERSEY. 349
the north beach of the island, they carried their chap.
boats on their backs over the sandy point, em-
barked again on the bay, and landed after midnight
within four miles of Sag Harbor. To that place
they advanced before daybreak in silence and order,
burned one vessel of six or eight guns, and ten
loaded transports, destroyed the stores that lay at
the wharf, killed five or six of the British, and
with little opposition captured all the rest but four.
On their return they reached Guilford with ninety
prisoners at two in the afternoon, having traversed
by land and water ninety miles in twenty- five
hours. Congress voted Meigs a sw^ord, and Wash-
ington promoted Sergeant Ginnings for merit in
the expedition.
During the period of his listless indolence Howe May.
received letters from his government dated the third
of March, after the news of the disasters in New
Jersey had reached England. Germain, w4iom dis-
appointment made more and more vengeful, ex-
pressed his extreme mortification that the brilliancy
of Howe's successes had thus been tarnished, add-
ing : " They who insolently refuse to accept the
mercy of their sovereign cannot, in the eye of
impartial reason, have the least room to expect
clemency at the hand of his subjects; I fear you
and Lord Howe must adopt such modes of carrying
on the war that the rebels may be eflectually dis-
tressed, so that through a lively experience of losses
and sufferings they may be brought as soon as
possible to a proper sense of their duty." The sec-
retary longed to hear that Boston was in flames;
he communicated the king's opinion, that in con-
VOI« IX 30
350 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, junction with the fleet "a warm diversion" should
— Y — ' be made "upon the coasts of the Massachusetts
May/ "^y ^^^ ^^^ Hampshire," and their ports be occu-
pied or "destroyed." The admiral had not come
to America to "distress" and "destroy;" he would
not hearken to the hint to burn Boston and the
other seaside towns of New Eugland ; ^ and after a
Jane delay of more than three weeks, the general on the
third of June made answer, that " it was not con-
sistent with other operations."
Hitherto the letters of Sir William Howe to his
superior had been decorous : to the minute and elab-
orate directions of the secretary, addressed through
him to the Indian agent, on the employment of
the savaiz-es of the south and southwest against the
frontiers of the Southern states, he replied with un-
disguised contempt and sneers. In his talk to the
headmen and warriors of the southwest, of which
a copy was sent to Germain, he accepted with
pleasure the white wing from the Chickasaws and
Choctaws as the emblem of love, the painted
hatchet from the Creeks as the token of fidelity ;
but while he was profuse of kind words and pres-
ents, he never urged " the red children of the
great king" to deeds of blood.
From Lord North's office Howe received the
kindest attention and assurances of support; but
not the love of his country, not respect for his
sovereign, not fear of public opinion, not the cer-
tainty that a war with France would follow a
fruitless campaign, could quicken the sluggish na-
ture of the obstinate commander. He had squan-
1 George the Third to Lord North, 28 October, 1777.
THE BRITISH EVACUATE NEW JERSEY. 351
dered away two of the best months for activity in chap.
the field ; he now deliberately wasted the month '^..^^r^^
of June. There was no force that could seriously j^^^*
oppose his march to Philadelphia ; yet he clung to
Lis plan of reaching that city by water, while he
continually postponed his embarkation.
On the twenty-eighth of May, Washington removed May
his quarters from Morristown to the heights of Mid-
dlebrook. His army was composed of no more than
seven thousjind five hundred men in forty-three regi-
ments, distributed into five divisions of two brigades
each. Sullivan, his oldest major-general, with about
fifleen hundred men was stationed at Princeton,
while he retained about six thousand in his well-
chosen mountain camp. Of this the front was pro-
tected by the Raritan, then too deep to be forded ;
the left was by nature difficult of access ; and the
right, where the ground was not good, was pro-
tected by two strong redoubts. Here, at a distance
of about nine miles from Brunswick, he kept watch
of his enemy, who put on the appearance of open- ju^a
ing the campaign. Two more regiments came up
from Rhode Island ; horses, tents, stores, reenforce-
ments, arrived from England ; Lee was put on
board the "Centurion" man-of-war for security;
and by the twelfth of June, British, Hessians, and
Anspachers, to the number of seventeen thousand,
with boats and pontoons for crossing the Delaware,
were assembled at Brunswick. For its numbers
that army had not its equal in the world ; the
veteran officers, alike German and English, agreed
tliat they had never seen such a body of men.
Every soldier was eager for a battle.
I
352 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. It was Howe's purpose, so far as he had any be-
yond getting rid of time, to throw his army be-
tween Washington and Princeton, and by a swift
march to cut off the division under Sullivan. Orders
were given for the troops to move from BrunswiclBi
at eleven in the night, leaving their tents, bag-
gage, and boats behind. A tardiness of five hours
enabled Sullivan to retire to the Delaware. He
should have been pursued ; but Howe, after march-
ing in two columns about three miles on the road
to Princeton, turned suddenly to the right to
Somerset court-house. His first column under
Cornwallis advancing to Hillsborough, the second
under Heister to Middlebush, they occupied below
the mountains a fine country for a battle-field.
14. On Saturday the fourteenth of June, about the
hour when the two armies first confronted each
other, congress "resolved that the flag of the thir-
teen United States be thirteeji stripes, alternate red
and white ; that the union be thirteen stars white
, in a blue field, representing a new constellation."
The immovable fortitude of Washington in his
camp at Middlebrook was the salvation of that
beautiful flag. The guard of the line of the Dela-
ware was intrusted to Arnold, with such force as
he could rally; Sullivan was recalled from his
flight, and stationed at Sourland hills, within six
miles of Somerset court-house, where he was
strengthened by continentals and Pennsylvania mi-
litia sent over the Delaware, and by the uprising
of the men of New Jersey. During these days
Washington was almost constantly in the saddle;
by night his men slept on their arms; in the
THE BRITISH EVACUATE NEW JERSEY. 353
morning they were arrayed for battle; but Howe chap.
dared not adventure an attack, and he could only > — y — '
throw up fortifications, which he was to leave be- j^^^'
hind. He was of too coarse a nature to feel keenly
the shame of his position ; but his army murmured.
At that time, the cares of the northern depart-
ment were thrown upon the American commander-
in-chief; and Schuyler besieged him with entreaties
to supply his wants and remedy all that was going
wrong. It is strange that men in and round con-
gress fretted at Washington's caution ; yet at the
time when his prudence was saving the country
from ruin, when to have crossed the river with his
small and ill-provided force was just what Howe
desired, one general officer wrote : " We must fight 18.
or forfeit our honor;" and on the eighteenth,
Samuel Adams thus complained : " I confess, I
have always been so very wrong-headed as not
to be over- well pleased with what is called the
Fabian war in America." When Washington heard
of these reproaches, he answered : " We have
some amongst us, and I dare say generals, who
wish to make themselves popular at the expense
of others, or who think the cause is not to be ad-
vanced otherwise than by fighting ; the peculiar cir-
cumstances under which it is to be done, and the
consequences which may follow, are objects too
trivial for their attention ; but as I have one
great object in view, I shall steadily pursue the
means which in my judgment leads to the accom-
plishment of it, not doubting but that the candid
part of mankind, if they are convinced of my
integrity, will make proper allowance for my in-
30*
354 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
^'(?^^^' experience and frailties. I will agree to be loaded
with all the obloquy they can bestow, if I commit
a wilful error." ^ With undisturbed self-possession,
he continued to hold in check and completely
baffle an enemy of much more than twice his
19. numbers. On the nineteenth, Howe returned tcipj
Brunswick. Washington watched to see if he
would take the road to the Delaware; and when,
20. on the twentieth, his army at Middlebrook learned
that the whole British force was returning to Am-
boy, the surrounding country even as far as Bruns-
wick rung at evening with their salvos and shouts.
21. On the twenty-first, Washington, who hoped to
cut off the rear-guard of the British, sent orders
to Maxwell to lie with a strong party between
Brunswick and Amboy, and to Sullivan to join his
division to Greene, who was advanced with three
brigades; while the main body of the army were
paraded upon the heights within supporting dis-
22. tance. But Sullivan came too late ; the express
sent off to Maxwell never reached him ; and
Greene's party was left to act alone. At four
o'clock in the morning of the twenty-second, Heis-
ter, who was on the north side of the Earitan,
began his march to Amboy ; his rear, consisting
of the Anspach and Hessian yagers, was much cut
up by a body of about three hundred men ; the
corps of Cornwallis, which slept in Brunswick,
could not move so rapidly, for it had to cross the
Raritan by a narrow bridge. Near the end of
the bridge Howe stood on high ground with his
staff, to see the troops pass by ; they were gloomy
1 Washington to Reed, 23 June, 1777, in Life of Esther Reed, 273, 274
THE BRITISH EVACUATE NEW JERSEY. 355
and sullen at the thought of a retreat. A battery chap.
of three heavy cannon which Greene mounted on
a hill was too distant to be effective. When more
than half the column of Cornwallis had passed
Pi.scataway, his patrols on the left were fiercely
Bet upon by Morgan's riflemen, and driven back
upon the column. Howe instantly put himself at
the head of the two nearest regiments to meet the
attack. For a hall-hour the rifle corps fought within
the distance of forty yards; nor did they retire till
he ordered up heavy artillery and scoured the
woods with grape. There at least thirty, several
of the officers thought more than a hundred, of
the British fell. Soon after this encounter, a
strong body of the Americans was discovered in
the distance ; lest they should boast of his rapid
flight before them, Howe arrayed the rear-guard
and a part of the corps of Cornwallis on a small
oval phiin, and offered battle. The rest of the
march to Amboy was unobstructed.
Having* taken the advice of his general officers, 24.
whose opinion that the British army had gone off
panic-struck he did not share, Washington on the
twenty-fourth came down with the main body of
his army Jis far as Quibbletown, and advanced Lord
Stirling's division with some other troops to jVIa-
touchin, to act according to circumstances, but in
no event to brino- on a £j:eneral enojag^ement. In-
formed of this movement, Howe conceived the hope ?5
of getting in Washington's rear. Recalling the Ger-
man battalions which had crossed to Staten Island,
at one in the morning of the twenty- sixth he 26.
marched his whole army in two columns by differ-
•^56 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, ent roads in the direction of Scotch Plains. About
eight o'clock, Maxwell, who commanded an ad-
vanced detachment, withdrew Avithout loss. A brief
hour later, Cornwallis came upon Stirling's division,
in which Conway and other French officers served
as volunteers. It was posted on a cleared hill in
front of a forest, with six small field-pieces. Stir-
ling, who was a brave man, but no tactician, saw
fit to await an attack. His artillery began to play
at the distance of a thousand yards, and his musketry
fired before the British were within range. Corn-
w^allis planted two twelve-pounders and some six-
pounders on his own left to annoy Stirling's right,
while Minnigerode, moving a battalion of Hessian
grenadiers obliquely, turned his position and attacked |
his left flank. As the Hessian grenadiers came on,
the Americans gave a nervous fire from a distance,
and fled. The Hessians captured two brass three-
pounders, which had lately arrived from France ; a
third was taken by the first battalion of guards.
Cornwallis lost about seventy men, of whom more
than half were Hessians. The Americans lost, in-
cluding prisoners, full twice that number. The
party of Stirling was chased as far as Westfield with
little effect ; there the heat of the day and the
fatigue of his men compelled Cornwallis to give
up the pursuit. The column which Howe accom-
panied accomplished nothing ; Washington had re-
tired to the heights of Middlebrook.
27, 28. In the two next days the British troops returned
through Rahway to Amboy, and were rapidly trans-
80. ferred to Staten Island; on the thirtieth, Howe
evacuated New Jersey, never again to step his foot
THE BRITISH EVACUATE NEW JERSEY. 857
on its soil. A great victory on the part of the chap.
Americans would not have given a deadher blow >^v^-^
to British supremacy. As at Boston the refugees j^^q'
sailed away with the army, so now Jersey men 3^*
who had accepted the protection of the British king
Hocked to Staten Island.
In Philadelphia toryism had stalked abroad fear- Ju^y
lesily, and in May a clergyman had publicly read
prayers for the king; the nearness of danger now
effected a coalition of parties ; the unexpectedly
spirited manner in which the militia of Pennsyl-
vania turned out, gave a shock to the enemy ; and
the American congress could celebrate the first an-
niversary of independence wdth a feeling of security
and triumph. The bells rung all day and all the
evening; the ships and row-galleys and boats showed
the flag of the nation ; at one o'clock, the ships in
the stream were manned. At three, there was a
dinner attended by the members of congress and
officers of the government of Pennsylvania; "Our
country " was on the lips of every one ; " the heroes
who have fallen " were commemorated ; the land-
grave of Hesse's band, captured at Trenton, played
excellent music. Afterwards there were military
parades, and at night, bonfires, fireworks, and a
general illumination.
All the w4iile, Howe was getting in readiness for
a voyage, and shipping his army, amidst the half-
suppressed murmurs of his officers, whose chagrin
was soon sharpened by the success of a daring ad-
venture. Prescott, the commander of the British
forces on Rhode Island, had his quarters at a lonely
farm-house about four miles from Newport, on the
358 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, west side of the island, a mile from any troops, with
:>i
no patrols along the shore, and no protection bul
a sentry and the guard-ship in the bay. Hearin|
of this, William Barton, a native of Warren, then a
colonel in the American army, embarked a party
at Providence in two whale-boats, hid them dur-
ing the day at Warwick, and on the night fo^KI
lowing the ninth of July, after the young moon
had gone down, steered between the islands of Pa-
tience and Prudence, and landed at Redwood creel
Coming up across fields, they surrounded Prescott's
house, at once burst open all the doors, took him
and Lieutenant Barrington out of their beds, hur-
ried them to the water without giving them time
to put on their clothes, and, while men from the
several camps were searching for their tracks on
the shore, they passed under the stern of the guard-
ship, which lay against Hope island, and carried
their captives to Providence. The rank of Prescott
was equal to that of Lee, and Washington promptly
invited an exchange.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE ADVANCE OF BURGOYNE FROM CANADA.
May — July 7, 1777.
"This campaign will end the war," was the opin- chap.
ion given by Riedesel; and through Lord Suffolk he > — r-^
solicited the continued favor of the British king, who ^'^'^'^'
was in his eyes " the adoration of all the universe.**
Flushed with expectations of victory and glory, Carle-
ton employed the unusually mild Canadian winter
in preparations. On the last day of April he gave
audience 'to the deputies of the Six Nations, and
accepted their services with thanks and gifts. Other
large bodies of Indians were engaged, under leaders
of their own approval. " Wretched colonies ! " said
the Brunswick major-general, " if these wild souls are
indulged in war.**
To secure the Mohawks to the British side, Joseph
Brant, their young chief, urged them to abandon
their old abode for lands more remote from American
settlements. To counteract his authority, Gates,
near the end of May, thus spoke to a council of
warriors of the Six Nations :
360 AMERICAN IKDEPENDENCE.
XXI
1777.
CHAP. " Brothers : the United States are now one peo-
pie ; suffer not any evil spirit to lead you into war.
Brothers of the Mohawks ! you will be no more a
people from the time you quit your ancient habi-
tations ; if there is any wretch so bad as to think
of prevailing upon you to leave the sweet stream
so beloved by your forefathers, he is unworthy to
be called a Mohawk ; he is your bitterest enemy.
Before many moons pass away, the pride of Eng-
land will be laid low ; then, when your American^
brothers have no enemy to contend with, how happy
will It make you to reflect that you have preserved
the neutrality so earnestly recommended to yoi
from the beginning of the war. Brothers of thi
Six Nations: the Americans well know your greal
fame and power as warriors; the only reason why'
they did not ask your help against the cruelty of
the king was, that they thought it ungenerous to
desire you to suffer in a quarrel in which you had
no concern. Brothers : treasure all I have now said
in your hearts ; for the day will come when you
will hold my memory in veneration for • the good
advice contained in this speech." ^
The settlers in the land which this year took the
name of Vermont, refused by a great majority to
come under the jurisdiction of New York; on the
fifteenth of January, 1777, their convention declared
the independence of their state. At Windsor, on the
second of June, they appointed a committee to pre-
pare a constitution ; and they hoped to be received
as a new member of the Union. But as New York
1 From the MSS. of Gates In the collections of the New York Historical
Society.
THE ADVANCE OF BUUGOYNE FROM CANADA. 3C1
XXI.
17TT,
insisted on its legal right, congress, by an uncertain ciup-
majority against a large and determined minority,
disclaimed the intention of recognising Vermont.
Gates, who had the good luck to be relieved just
before inevitable mishaps, charged Saint Clair to "call
lustily for aid of all kinds, for no general ever lost
by surplus numbers, or over-preparation;" and he
then repaired to Philadelphia, to secure his reinstate-
ment.
On the twelfth. Saint Clair, the best of the briga-
diers then in the north, reached Ticonderoga. Five
days later, Schuyler visited his army. Mount Defi-
ance, which overhangs the outlet of Lake George and
was the acknowledged *' key of the position," was left
unoccupied. From the old French intrenchments to
the southeastern works on the Vermont side, the
wretchedly planned and unfinished defences extended
more than two miles and a half; and from end to
end of the straggling lines and misplaced block-
houses there was no spot which could be held against
a superior force. The British could reach the place
by the lake more swiftly than the Americans through
the forest. The only good part was, to prepare for
evacuating the post; but from the dread of clamor,
shirking the responsibility of giving definite instruc-
tions, Schuyler returned to Albany, and busied him-
self with forwarding to Ticonderoga supplies for a
long siege.
On the sixth of May, Burgoyne arrived at Quebec.
Carleton received with amazement despatches rebuk-
ing him for his conduct of the last campaign, and
ordering him, for " the speedy quelling of the re-
bellion," to make over to his inferior officer the com-
VOL. IX 31
3G2 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, mand of the Canadian army, as soon as it should cross
v^.^^^ the boundary of the province of Quebec. The aus-
^'^'^'^' tere man, answering the not unjust reproaches of
the secretary, and of Amherst, the secretary's coun-
sellor, with passionate recrimination, at once yielded
the chief military authority, and as civil governor
paid a haughty but unquestioning obedience to the
requisitions of his successor. Contracts were made
for fifteen hundred horses and five hundred carts ; a
thousand Canadians, reluctant and prone to deser-
tion, were called out as road-makers and wagoners;
and six weeks' supplies for the army were crowded
forward upon the one line of communication by the
Sorel. Burgoyne had very nearly all the force which
he had represented as sufficient. His officers were
exceedingly well chosen, especially Phillips and Rie-
desel as major-generals and the Highlander Fraser
as an actino- brit^adier. Sir William Howe was
promptly notified that Burgoyne had precise orders
to force a jurlction with the army in New York.
A diversion, from which great consequences were
expected, was to proceed by way of Lake Ontario
to the Mohawk river, while, on the fifteenth of June,
Burgoyne advanced from Saint Johns, as he thought,
to easy victories and high promotion. Many offi-
cers* wives attended their husbands, promising them-
selves an agreeable trip to New York.
On the twentieth, some of the Indians, shedding
the first blood, brought in ten scalps and as many
prisoners. The next day, at the camp near the river
Bouquet, a little north of Crown Point, Burgoyne
met in congress about four hundred Iroquois, Algon-
quin, and Ottawa savages. Pleased with the oppor-
THE ADVANCE OF BURGOYNE FROM CANADA. 363
XXI.
17TT
tunity for display, he appealed "to their wild honor" chap
in phrases elaborately prepared :
" Chiefs and Warriors : the great king, our com-
mon father, has considered with satisfaction the gen-
eral conduct of the Indian tribes from the beginning
of the troubles in America.. The refuse of a small
tribe at first were led Jistray, demonstrating to the
world how few and how contemptible are the apos-
tates. These pitiful examples excepted, the collec-
tive voices and hands of the Indian tribes over this
vast continent are on the side of justice, of law,
and of the king. The restraint you have put upon
your resentment in waiting the king your father's
call to arms is the hardest proof to which your
affection could have been put. The further patience
of your father would, in his eyes, become culpable ;
it therefore remains for me, the general of one of
his majesty's armies, and in this council his repre-
sentative, to release you from those bonds which
your obedience imposed. Warriors ! you are free ;
go forth in might of your valor and your cause ;
strike at the common enemies of Great Britain and
America, disturbers of public order, peace, and happi-
ness, destroyers of commerce, parricides of the state.
The circle round you, the chiefs of his majesty's
European forces, and of the princes, his allies, esteem
you as brothers in the war ; emulous in glory and
in friendship, we will reciprocally give and receive
examples. Be it our task to regulate your passions
when they overbear. I positively forbid bloodshed,
when you are not opposed in arms. Aged men,
women, children, and prisoners, must be held sacred
from the knife and the hatchet, even in the time
/
364 AMERICAN IN'DEPElSrDENCE.
CHAP, of actual conflict. You shall receive compensation
XXL 'M
for the prisoners you take, but you shall be called |
1T77.
to account for scalps. Your customs have affixed
an idea of honor to such badges of victory: you
shall be allowed to take the scalps of the dead,
when killed by your fire and in fair opposition ; but
on no account, or pretence, or subtlety, or prevari-
cation, are they to be taken from the w^ounded, or
even dying ; and still less pardonable will it be held,
to kill men in that condition upon a supposition
that this protection to the wounded would be there-
by evaded. Base, lurking assassins, incendiaries,
ravage rs, and plunderers of the country, to what-
ever army they may belong, shall be treated with
less reserve ; but the latitude must be given you by
order; and I must be the judge of the occasion.
Should the enemy, on their part, dare to counte-
nance acts of barbarity towards those who may fall
into their hands, it shall be yours to retaliate."
An old Iroquois chief thus replied : " We receive
you as our father; because, when you speak, we
hear the voice of our great flither beyond the great
lake. We have been tried and tempted by the
Bostonians; but we loved your father, and our
hatchets have been sharpened upon our affections.
In proof of sincerity, our whole villages, able to go
to war, are come forth. The old and infirm, our
infants and wives, alone remain at home. With
one common assent we promise a constant obedi-
ence to all you have ordered, and all you shall
order ; and may the Father of days give you many
and success."
Having feasted the Indians according to their
THE ADVANCE OF BURGOYNE FROM CANADA. 365
custom, Biirgoyne ostentatiously published his speech, cttap.
which reflected his instructions, but not English ^^-^
opinion. Edmund Burke, who had learned that the ^'^^'''
natural ferocity of those tribes far exceeded the
ferocity of all barbarians mentioned in history, pro-
nounced that they were not fit allies for the king in
a war with his people ; that Englishmen should never
confirm their evil habits by fleshing them in the
slaughter of British colonists. In the house of com-
mons Fox censured the king for suffering them in his
camp, when it was well known that " brutality, mur-
der, and destruction were ever inseparable from In-
dian warriors." When Suffolk, before the lords, con-
tended that it WMS perfectly justifiable to use all
the means which God and nature had put into their
hands, Cliatham called down " the most decisive in-
dignation at these abominable principles and this
more abominable avowal of them." At a later day,
Burgoyne offered the false excuse, that " he spoke
daggers, but used none."
In a proclamation issued at Cro^vn Point, Bur-
goyne, claiming to speak " in consciousness of Chris-
tianity and the honor of soldiership," enforced his
persuasions to the Americans by menaces like these :
"Let not people consider their distance from my
camp ; I have but to give stretch to the Indian
forces under my direction, and they amount to thou-
sands, to overtake the hardened enemies of Great
Britain. If the frenzy of hostility should remain,
I trust I shall stand acquitted in the eyes of God
and man in executing the vengeance of the state
against the wilful outcasts."
On the last day of June, he published in general
81*
366 AMERICAN INDErENDEXCE.
ciTAP. orders: " This, army must not retreat ;" while Saint
v^.-^^ Clair wrote to Schuyler : " Should the enemy attack
^^^^* IIS, they will go hack faster than they came." On
the first of July the invading army moved up the
lake. As they encamped at evening before TiconJ
deroga and Mount Independence, the rank and file
exclusive of Indians, numbered three thousifnd seve
hundred and twenty-four British, three thousand and
sixteen Germans, two hundred and fifty provincials,
besides four hundred and seventy-three of the choic-
est artillerists, with the most complete supply of ar-
tillery ever furnished to such an army. On the
third, one of Saint Clair's aids promised Washington
" the total defeat of the enemy ; " but on that day
Riedesel was studying how to invest Mount Ind
pendence. On the fourth, Phillips seized the mills'
near the outlet of Lake George, and hemmed in
Ticonderoga on that side. In the following night, a
party of infantry, following the intimation of Lieu-
tenant Twiss of the engineers, took possession of
Mount Defiance. In one day more, batteries from
that liill would play on both forts, and Riedesel com-
plete the investment of Mount Independence. " We
must away," said Saint Clair, as he awoke to the des-
perateness of his situation ; his council of war were
all of the same mind, and the retreat must be made
the very next night. The garrison, according to liis
low estimate, consisted of thirty-three hundred men,
of whom two thirds were effective, but with scarcely
more than one bayonet to every tenth soldier. One
regiment, the invalids, and such stores as there was
time to lade, were sent in boats up the lake to
Whitehall, while the great body of the troops,
THE ADVANCE OF BURGOYNE FROM CANADA. 367
XXI.
177T.
under Saint Clair, with no more confusion than chap.
necessarily attended a sudden movement in dark-
ness under inexperienced brigadiers, took the new
road through the wilderness to Hubbard ton.
At daybreak on the sixth, Fraser moved swiftly
upon Ticonderoga, and Riedesel occupied Fort Inde-
pendence. They found ample stores of ammunition,
flour, salt meat, and herds of oxen, more than seventy
cannon, and what to the Americans was a most
severe loss, a large number of tents. Burgoyne, who
came up in the fleet, sent Fraser with twenty com-
panies of English grenadiers, followed by Kiedesel's
infantry and reserve corps, in pursuit of the army
of Saint Clair ; and as soon as a passage could be
cleared through the bridge that barred the channel
between Ticonderoga and Mount Independence, the
fleet, bearing Burgoyne and the rest of his forces,
chased after the detachment which had escaped by
water. The Americans, burning three of their ves-
sels, abandoned two others and the fort at Whitehall.
Everything which they brought from Ticonderoga
was destroyed, or fell a prey to their pursuers.
On the same day, Burgoyne reported to his gov-
ernment that the army of Ticonderoga was " dis-
banded and totally ruined." Lord George Germain
cited to General Howe this example of " rapid prog-
ress," and predicted an early junction of the two
armies. Men disputed in England whether most to
admire the sword or the pen of Burgoyne. They
gave him Caesar's motto. They taunted the Ameri-
cans as cowards who dared not stand before com-
pacted Britons, and were sure of the entire conquest
of the confederated provinces before Christmas.
CHAPTER XXII.
progress of the campaign in the north.
July — August 21, 1777.
CTTAP. On the second of July, tlie convention of Vermont
XXII. .
s^J^,^ reassembled at Windsor. The organic law which
^'^'^'^' they adopted, blending the gains of the eighteenth
century with the traditions of Protestantism, assumed
that all men are born free, and with inalienable
rights ; that they may emigrate from one state to
another, or form a new state in vacant countries;
that "every sect should observe the Lord's day, and
keep up some sort of religious worship;" that every
man may choose that form of religious worship
"which shall seem to him most agreeable to the
revealed will of God." They provided for a school
in each town, a grammar-school in each county,
and a university in the state. All officers, alike exec-
utive and legislative, were to be chosen annually, and
by ballot ; the freemen of every town and all one-
year's residents were electors. Every member of the
house of representatives must declare " his belief in
one God, the re warder of the good and the punisher
PROGRESS OF THE CAMPAIGN IX THE NORTH. 369
of the wicked ; in the divine inspiration of the Scrip- chap.
• XXII
tures ; and in the Protestant religion." The legisla- v^-.^
tive power was vested in one general assembly, sub- ^'^'^^'
ject to no veto, though an advisory power was given
to a board consisting of the governor, lieutenant-gov-
ernor, and twelve councillors. Slavery was forbidden
expressly and forever ; and there could be no impris-
onment for debt. Once in seven years an elective
council of censors was to take care that freedom and
the constitution were preserved in purity.
After the loss of Ticonderoga, the establishment
of the new government was postponed, lest the proc-
ess of change should interfere with the public de-
fence ; and the Vermont council of safety despatched
supplicatory letters for aid to the New Hampshire
committee at Exeter and to Massachusetts.
On the night of the sixth, Eraser and his party
made their bivouac seventeen miles from the lake,
with that of Riedesel three miles in their rear. At
three in the morning of the seventh both detachments
were in motion. The savages having discovered the
rear-guard of Saint Clair's army, which Warner, con-
trary to his instructions, had encamped for the night
at Hubbardton, six miles short of Castleton, Fraser, at
five, ordered his troops to advance. To their great
surprise, Warner, w^ho was nobly assisted by Colonel
Eben Francis and his New Hampshire regiment,
turned and began the attack. The English w^ere like
to be worsted, w^hen Riedesel with his vanguard and
company of yagers came up, their music playing,
the men singing a battle -hymn. Francis for a third
time charged at the head of his regiment, and held
the enemy at bay till he fell. On the approach of
370 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, the three German battalions, his men retreated to-
XXII.
» — r-^ wards the south. Fraser, taking Riedesel by the
*^^^' hand, thanked him for the timely rescue. Of the
Americans few were killed, and most of those en-
gaged in the fight made good their retreat; but dur-
ing the day the British took more than two hundred
stragglers, wounded men, and invalids. Of the Bruns-
wickers twenty-two were killed or wounded, of the
British one hundred and fifty-five. The heavy loss
stopped the pursuit, and Saint Clair, with two thou-
sand excellent continental troops, marched unmo-
lested to Fort Edward.
The British regiment which chased the fugitives
from Whitehall took ground within a mile of Fort .1
Ann. On the morning of the eighth, its garrison '
drove them nearly three miles, took a captain and
three privates, and inflicted a loss of at least fifty ^
in killed and wounded. Reenforced by a brigade, the
English returned only to find the fort burned down,
and the garrison beyond reach.
Burgoyne chose to celebrate these events by a
day of thanksgiving; but the spirit of the Americans
was alarming, while the loss of men in the two en-
gagements, and by bad food, and camping out in all
weathers, could ill be borne. Another disappoint-
ment awaited him. He asked Carleton to hold Ticon-
deroga with a part of the three thousand troops left
in Canada ; Carleton, pleading his instructions, which
confined him to his own province, unexpectedly re-
fused, and left Burgoyne "to drain the life-blood of
his army" for the garrison. Again, supplies of pro-
visions came tardily. Of the Canadian horses con-
* Riedesel's journal. MS.
PROGRESS OF THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH. 371
traded for not more than one third were brought in chap.
XXII.
good condition over the wild mountain roads. The ^J--r^
wagons were made of green wood, and, moreover, ^'^^'^'
were deficient in number. Further, Burgoyne should
have turned back from Whitehall, and moved to the
Hudson river by w^ay of Lake George and the old
road; but the word was, "Britons never recede;" and
after the halt of a fortnight he took the short cut to
Fort Edward, through a wilderness bristling with
woods, broken by numerous creeks, and treacherous
with morasses. In his letters he dwells wdth com-
placency on the construction of more than forty
bridges, a "log-w^ork" over a morass two miles in
extent, and the removal of layers of fallen timber-
trees. But this persistent toil in the heat of midsum-
mer, among myriads of insects, dispirited his troops.
Early in July, Burgoyne confessed to Germain,
that, "were the Indians left to themselves, enor-
mities too horrid to think of would ensue ; guilty
and innocent, women and infants, would be a com-
mon prey." The general, nevertheless, resolved to
use them as instruments of " terror," and promised,
after arriving at Albany, to send them " towards
Connecticut and Boston," knowing full well that they
were actually left to themselves by La Corne Saint
Luc, their leader, who was impatient of control in
the use of the scalping-knife.^ Every day the sav-
ages brought in scalps as well as prisoners. On the
twenty- seventh, June MacCrea, a young woman of
twenty, betrothed to a loyalist in the British service
and esteeming herself under the protection of British
arms, was riding from Fort Edward to the British
1 Burgoyne in Almon's Parliamentary Debates, ix. 220.
372 AMERICAN IKDEPEI!^DENCE.
CHAP, camp at Sandy Hill, escorted by two Indians. The
vJ.-Y-^' Indians quarrelled about the reward promised on her
*^^^* safe arrival, and at a half-mile from Fort Edward one
of them sunk his tomahawk in her skull. The inci-
dent was not of unusual barbarity ; but this massacre
of a betrothed girl on her way to her lover touched
the hearts of all who heard the story. Bargoyne
hunted out the assassin, and threatened him with
death, but pardoned him on hearing that " the total
defection of the Indians would have ensued from
putting that threat into execution."
Meantime, the British were never harried by the
troops with Schuyler, against whom public opinion
was rising. Men reasoned rightly, that, if Ticon-
deroga was untenable, he should have known it,
and given timely orders for its evacuation ; instead
of which he had been heaping up stores there to the
last. To screen his popularity, he insisted that the
retreat was made without the least hint from him-
self, and was "ill-judged and not warranted by
necessity." With manly frankness Saint Clair as-
sumed the sole responsibility of the praiseworthy
act which had saved to the country many of its
bravest defenders.
Schuyler owed his place to his social position, not
to military talents. Anxious, and suspected of a
want of personal courago, he found everything go
ill under his command. To the continental troops
of Saint Clair, who were suffering from the loss of
their clothes and tents, he was unable to restore
confidence ; nor could he rouse the people. The
choice for governor of New York fell on George Clin-
ton; "his character," said Washington to the coun-
PROGRESS OF THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH. 373
XXII.
1777.
cil of safety, "will make him peculiarly useful at chap.
the head of your state." Schuyler wrote : " his fam-
ily and connections do not entitle him to so distin-
guished a preeminence." The aid of Vermont was
needed ; Schuyler would never address its secretary
except in his "private capacity." There could be
no hope of a successful campaign, but with the
hearty cooperation of New England ; yet Schuyler
gave leave for one half of its militia to go home at
once, and the rest to follow in three weeks, and then
called upon Washington to supply their places by
troops from the south of Hudson river, saying to
his friends that one southern soldier was worth two
from New England.
On the twenty-second, long before Burgoyne was
ready to advance, Schuyler retreated to a position
four miles below Fort Edward. Here again he com-
plained of his "exposure to immediate ruin." His
friends urged him to silence the growing suspicion
of his cowardice; he answered: "If there is a battle,
I shall certainly expose myself more than is pru-
dent." To the New York council of safety he wrote
on the twenty-fourth: "I mean to dispute every inch
of ground with Burgoyne, and retard his descent as
long as possible;" and in less than a week, without
disputing anything, he retreated to Saratoga, hav-
ing his heart set on a position at the junction of
the Mohawk and Hudson. The courage of the com-
mander being gone, his officers and his army became
spiritless; and, as his only resource, he solicited aid
from Washington with unreasoning importunity.
The loss of Ticonderoga alarmed the patriots of
New York, gladdened the royalists, and fixed the
VOL. IX. 82
374 AMERICAN IIS'DEPEI^DENCE.
CHAP, wavering* Indians as enemies. Five counties were in
XXII.
wV--' the possession of the enemy; three others suffered
IT 77. fj.Q^^ disunion and anarchy; Try on county implored
immediate aid; the militia of Westchester were ab-
sorbed in their own defence; in the other counties,
scarcely men enough remained at home to secure the
plentiful harvest. Menaced on its border from the
Susquehanna to Lake Champlain, and on every part
of the Hudson, New York became the battle-field
for the life of the young republic ; it had crying need
of help; its council accepted Schuyler's excuses, and
seconded his prayers for reenforcements.
As commander-in-chief of all the armies of America,
Washington watched with peculiar care over the
northern department; in the plan of the campaign
he had assigned it more than its share of troops
and resources; and he added one brigade which was
beyond the agreement, and of which he stood inj
pressing need, for the army of Howe was twice or]
thrice as numerous as that from Canada. In this
time of perplexity, when the country from the Hud-1
son to Maryland required to be guarded, the entrea-j
ties from Schuyler, from the council of New York,
and from Jay and Gouverneur Morris as deputies of:
that council, poured in upon* Washington. Alarmed!
by Schuyler's want of fortitude, he ordered to thai
north Arnold, who was fearless, and Lincoln, who
was acceptable to the militia of the Eastern states.
Beside those generals he sent, even though it weak-
ened his own army irretrievably, still one more excel-
lent brigade of continental troops under Glover. To
hasten the rising of New England, he wrote directly
to the brigadier-generals of Massachusetts and Con-
PROGRESS OF THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTR 375
XXII.
17T7.
necticut, urging them to march for Saratoga with at ciiap.
least one tliird part of the militia under their com-
mand. At the same time he bade Schuyler "never
despair," explaining that the forces which might ad-
vance under Burgoyne could not much exceed five
thousand men; that they must garrison every forti-
fied post lefl behind them ; that their progress must
be delayed by their baggage and artillery, and by
the necessity of cutting out new roads and clearing
old ones; that a party should be stationed in Vermont
to keep them in continual anxiety for their rear; that
Arnold should go to the relief of Fort Stanwix; that,
if the invaders continued to act in detachments, one
vigorous fall upon some one of those detachments
might prove fatal to the whole expedition.
In a like spirit he expressed to the council of New
York "the most sensible pleasure at the exertions of
the state, dismembered as it was, and under every
discouragement and disadvantage;" the success of
Burgoyne, he predicted, would be temporary; the
Southern states could not be asked to detail their
force, since it was all needed to keep Howe at bay;
the attachment of the Eastern states to the cause
insured their activity when invoked for the safety
of a sister state, of themselves, of the continent; the
worst effect of the loss of Ticonderoga was the panic
w^hich it produced; calmly considered, the expedi-
tion was not formidable; if New York should be
seasonabl}'- seconded by its eastern neighbors, Bur-
goyne would find it equally difficult to advance or
to retreat.
All this while Schuyler continued to despond. On
the thirteenth of August he could write from Stillwa-
376
AMERICAIT mDEPENDENCE.
ci^p. ter to Washington : "We are obliged to give way and
V— Y-^ retreat before a vastly superior force, daily increasing
in numbers, and which will be doubled if General
Burgoyne reaches Albany, which I apprehend will
be very soon;"^ and the next day, Hying from a
shadow cast before him, he moved his army to the
first island in the mouth of the Mohawk river. He
pitied the man who should succeed him, and accepted
the applause of his admirers at Albany for '* the wis-
dom of his safe retreat." For all this half-hearted-
ness, the failure of Burgoyne was certain ; but the
glory of his defeat was reserved for soldiers of Vir-
ginia, New York, and New England. The first blow
was struck by the husbandmen of Tryon county.
Burgoyne, on his return to London in 1776,
played the sycophant to Germain ^ by censuring
Carleton for not having used the Oswego and
Mohawk rivers for an auxiUary expedition,^ which
he had offered to lead. Overflowing afresh with bit-
terness for this neglect, Germain adopted the plan,
and settled the details for its execution chiefly by
savages. To Carleton, whom he accused of being
"resolved to avoid employing Indians,"* he an-
nounced the king's "resolution that every means
should be employed that Providence had put in his
majesty's hand for crushing the rebellion." ° The
savages were, moreover, to be committed to more
indulgent officers than Carleton had approved.^
' Schuyler to Washington, 13 [Burgoyne] a suitable command on
Auofust, 1777. MS. the Mohawk river."
2 Conversation with General Bur- * Precis of operations on Cana-
goyne after his arrival in England, dian frontier.
cited in Precis of operations on the 5 Germain to Carleton, 26 March,
Canadian frontier. MS. 1777. MS.
3 Compare Carleton to Germain, 6 Germain to Carleton, 19 March,
18 October, 1777: "to give him 1777. MS.
PROGRESS OF THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH. 377
And now Bnrgoyne was himself to forward the ^^^{*-
movement of which he was confident that the ^ — r-^
1 T T 7
dread would scatter the American army and open
an unobstructed way to Albany.^ The force under
Saint Leger, varying from the schedule of Germain
in its constituent parts more than in its numbers,
exceeded seven hundred and fifty white men. For
the Indians neutrality had charms, and " the Six
Nations inclined to the rebels" from fear of being
finally abandoned by the king. The Mohawks could
not rise, unless they were willing to leave their old
hunting-grounds ; the Oneidas were friendly to the
Americans ; even the Senecas were hard to be roused.
Butler at Irondequat assured them that there was no
hindrance in the war-path, that they would have only
to look on and see Fort Stanwix fall ; and for seven
days he lavished largesses on the fighting men and
on their wives and children, till "they accepted the
hatchet" which he gave them.^ "Not much short
of one thousand Indian warriors,"^ certainly "more
than eight hundred,"^ joined the white brigade of
Saint Leger. In addition to these, Hamilton, the
lieutenant-governor of Detroit, in obedience to orders
from the secretary of state,^ sent .out fifteen several
parties, consisting in the aggregate of two hundred
and eighty-nine red braves with thirty white of-
ficers and rangers,^ to prowl on the frontiers of
Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Collecting his forces as he advanced from Mon-
^ Compare Riedesel's diary. Knox, in Brodhead's Documents,
2 Coloiu'l John Butler to Carle- viii. 721.
ton, 28 July, 1777. 5 Germain to Carleton, 26 March,
3 Colonel Butler to Carleton, 28 1777. MS.
July, 177 7. 6 Lieut.-Gov. Hamilton to Ger-
* Col. Daniel Claus to Secretary main, Detroit, 27 July, 1777. MS.
32*
378 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, treal by way of Oswego, Saint Leger on the third
s^-v-^^ of August came near the carrying - place, where
for untold ages the natives had borne their bark
canoes over the narrow plain that divides the
waters of the Saint Lawrence from those of the
Hudson. He found a well-constructed fortress, safe
by earthworks against his artillerj^, and garrisoned^
by six or seven hundred men under Lieutenant-
Colonel Gansevoort. A messenger from Brant's sis-
ter brought word that Herkimer and the militia of
Tryon county were marching to its relief A plan
was made to lay an ambush of savages for this
party, which encamped on the fifth at a distance
of twelve miles. During the evening the savages
filled the woods with yells. The next morning,
having carefully laid aside their blankets and robes
of fur, the whole corps of Indians went out,
naked, or clad only in hunting-shirts, armed with
spear, tomahawk, and musket, and supported by
Sir John Johnson and some part of his royal
Yorkers, by Colonel Butler and his rangers, by
Claus and his Canadians, and by Lieutenant Bird
and a party of regulars.
The patriot freeholders of the Mohawk valley,
most of them sons of Germans from the Palatinate,
seven or eight hundred in number, misinformed as
to the strength of the besieging party, marched
through the wood with security and carelessness.
About an heur before noon, when they were within
six miles of the fort, their van entered the ambus-
cade. They were surprised in front by Johnson and
his Yorkers, while the Indians attacked their flanks
with fury, and after using their muskets rushed in
with their tomahawks. The patriots fell back with-
PROGRESS OF THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH. 379
out confusion to better ground, and renewed the ciup.
fight against superior numbers. There was no ^^ — r — '
chance for tactics in this battle of the wilderness.
Small parties fought from behind trees or fallen
logs ; or the white man, born on the banks of the
Mohawk, wrestled single-handed with the Seneca
warrior, like himself the child of the soil, mutually
striking mortal wounds with the bayonet or the
hatchet, and falling in the forest, " their left hands
clenched in each others hair, their right grasping
in a gripe of death the knife plunged in each
other's bosom." ^ Herkimer was badly wounded
below the knee, but he remained on the ground
giving orders to the end. Thomas Spencer died
the death of a hero. The battle raged for at least
an hour and a half, when the Americans repulsed
their assailants, but with the loss of about one
hundred and sixty killed, wounded, and taken, the
best and bravest people of western New York.
The savages fought with wild valor ; three-and-
thirty or more of their warriors, among them the
chief warriors of the Senecas, lay dead beneath the
trees ; about as many more were badly wounded.
Of the Yorkers one captain, of the rangers two
were killed ; another was left for dead on the field.
What number of privates fell is not told. The
British loss, including savages and white men, was
probably about one hundred.
Three men having crossed the morass into Fort
Stanwix to announce the approach of Herkimer, by
Gangevoort's order two hundred and fifty men, half
of New York, half of Massachusetts, under Lieu-
1 Gouverneur Morris in N". Y. Hist. Coll. ii. 1 33.
380 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
I
XXII.
17T7.
CHAP. tenantrColonel Marinus "VYillett, made a sally in
the direction of Oriska. They passed through the
quarters of the Yorkers, the rangers, and the sav-
ages, driving before them whites and Indians, chiefly
squaws and children, capturing Sir John Johnson's
papers, five British flags, the gala fur-robes and the
new blankets and kettles of the Indians, and four
prisoners. Learning from them the check to Her-
kimer, the party of Willett returned quickly to Fort
Stanwix, bearing their spoils on their shoulders. The
five captured colors were displayed under the con-
tinental flag. It was the first time that a captured
banner had floated under the stars and stripes of
the republic. The Indians were frantic with grief
at the death of their chiefs and warriors; they suf-
fered in the chill nights from the loss of their clothes;
and not even the permission in which they were
indulged of torturing and killing their captives, " con-
formable to the Indian^ custom,"^ could prevent their
beginning to return home.
Meantime, Willett, with Lieutenant Stockwell as
his companion, "both good woodsmen," made their
way past the Indian quarter at the hazard of
death by torture, in quest of a force to confront
the savages ; and Arnold was charged with the
command of such an expedition. Long before its
approach, an IndiaA ran into camp reporting that a
1 This is undisputed. The Brit- one of the prisoners out of the guard
Ish official accoutit is : " Many of with the most lamentable cries, tor-
the taken were, conformable to the tured him for along time, and this de-
Indian custom, afterwards killed." ponent was informed by both tories
Col. Butler to Carleton, Camp be- and Indians that they ate him." Affi-
fore Fort Stanwix, 15 August, 1777. davit of Moses Younglove, surgeon
The American account is confirma- of General Herkimer's brigade, in
tory : " The savages murdered Isaac Stone's Brant, Appendix iv.
Paris barbarously. They dragged
PROGRESS OF THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH. 381
thousand men were coining against them ; another chap.
followed, doubling the number; a third brought a ^J-^r — '
rumor that three thousand men were close at hand; *'^ ''"''•
and, deaf to Saint Leger and to their superintendents,
the wild warriors robbed the British officers of their
clothes, plundered the boats, and made off with the
booty. Saint Leger in a panic, though Arnold was
not within forty miles, hurried after them before
nightfiill, leaving his tents standing, and abandoning
most of his artillery and stores.
It was "Herkimer^ who," in the opinion of
Washington, " first reversed the gloomy scene " of
the northern campaign. The hero of the Mohawk
valley "served from love of country, not for re-
ward. He did not want a continental command
or money." Before congress had decided how to
manifest the gratitude of his country, he died of
his wound ; and they decreed him a monument.
Gansevoort was rewarded by a vote of thanks and
a command ; Willett by public praise and " an
elegant sword."
The employment of Indian allies had failed. The
king, the ministry, and, in due time, the British
parliament, were informed officially that the wild
red men " treacherously committed ravages upon
their friends;"^ that "they could not be controlled;"^
that " they killed their captives after the fashion
of their tribes ; " * that " there was infinite difficulty
I " It is his [Herkimer's] misfor- searched for Herkimer's letter, but
tune to want the powers of desorip- it couhl not be found,
tion, and we have a most lame '-^ Barry Saint Leger to Burgoyne,
and imperfect account of the great 27 August, 1777.
event." MS. letter of Duane, 3 Baum to Burgoyne, 14 August,
August, 1777, in the papers of R. 1777.
R. Livingston. The secretary of * Col. Butler in Almon's Parlia-
state caused his department to be mentary Debates, viii. 227.
382 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, to manage them;"^ that "they grew more and
^ — Y — ' more unreasonable and importunate."^ Could the
• government of a civilized state insist on courting
their alliance ? When the Seneca warriors, return-
ing to their lodges, told the story of the slaughter
of their chiefs, their villages rung with the howls
of mourners,^ the yells of rage. We shall see in-
terested British emissaries, acting under the orders
of Germain and the king, make the life of these
savages a succession of revenges, and lead them on
to the wreaking of all their wrath in blood.
Burgoyne, who on the thirtieth of July had his
head-quarters on the banks of the Hudson, was
proud of his management of the Indians, of whom
he had detachments from seventeen nations. A
Brunswick officer describes them as " tall, warlike,
and enterprising, but fiendishly wicked, man-eaters,
or certainly, in their fury, capable of unfleshing an
enemy with their teeth." ^ On the third of August
they brought in twenty scalps and as many captives ;
and Burgoyne noticed with approval^ their incessant
activity. To prevent desertions, it was announced in
orders to each regiment, that the savages were en-
joined to scalp every runaway. The Ottawas longed
to go home ; but on the fifth of August, nine days
1 Burgoyne to Howe, 6 August, cooperation with the Indians was
1777, transmitted to Germain, 21 only to be effected by an indulgence
October, 1777. in blood and rapine," 130; "the
2 Burgoyne to Germain, 1 1 July, Indian principle of war is at once
1777. Burgoyne's Expedition, Ap- odious and unavailing." 1H2. I
pendix xxxviil., and compare Bur- quote in the text from official letters
goyne's review of the evidence : only.
" The more warlike tribes ... 3 Life of Mary Jemison, 4th ed.
their only preeminence consisted 117.
in ferocitv," page 129; "the Indians ^ Schlozer's Brlefwechsel, iii. 280.
pined after a renewal of their accus- ^ Burgoyne to Howe, 5 August,
tomed horrors," 130; "A cordial 1777.
1777
PROGRESS OF THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH. 383
after the murder of Jane MacCrea, Burgoyne took chap.
from all his red warriors a pledge to stay through
the campaign.^ On the sixth, he reported himself
to General Howe as "well forward," "impatient to
gain the mouth of the Mohawk," but not likely
to "be in possession of Albany" before "the twenty-
second or the twenty-third " of the month.
To aid Saint Leger by a diversion, and fill his
camp with draught cattle, horses, and provisions from
the fabled magazines at Bennington, Burgoyne,
on the eleventh of August, sent out an expedition
on the left, commanded by Baum, a Brunswick
lijeutenant - colonel of dragoons, and composed of
more than four hundred Brunswickers, Hanau ar-
tillerists with two cannon, the select corps of British
marksmen, a party of French Canadians, a more
numerous party of provincial royalists, and a horde
of about one hundred and fifty^ Indians. The gen-
eral in his eagerness rode after Baum, and gave
him verbal orders to march directly upon Benning-
ton.^ After disposing of the stores at that place,
he might cross the Green Mountains, descend the
Connecticut river to Brattleboro', and enter Albany
with Saint Leger and Burgoyne. The night of the
thirteenth, he encamped about four miles from Ben-
nington, on a hill that rises from the Walloomscoick,
just wdthin the state of New York. When, early
on the morning of the fourteenth, a reconnoitring
party of Americans was seen, he wrote in high spirits
for more troops, and constructed strong intrench-
1 Brunswick journal. MS. have his own draught, as well as a
2 La Corne Saint Luc to Bur- ropy from the military archives at
goyne, Quebec, 23 October, 1778. Berlin of that which was sent to
3 Riedesel's journal, of which I Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick.
384 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
XXII
1777.
CHAP, ments. Burgoyne sent him orders to maintain his
post ; ^ and at eight o'clock on the fifteenth, Brey-
mann, a Brunswick lieutenant-colonel, marched with
two Brunswick battalions and two cannon, in a con-
stant rain, through thick woods, to his support.
The supplicatory letter from Vermont to the New
Hampshire committee of safety reached Exeter
just after the session of the legislature ; but its
members came together again on the seventeenth
of July, promptly resolved to cooperate "with the
troops of the new state," and ordered Stark, with
a brigade of militia, "to stop the progress of the
enemy on their western frontier."
Uprising at the call, the men of New Hampshire
flew to his standard, which he set up at Charles-
town on the Connecticut river. Takincr no heed
of Schuyler's orders to join the retreating army,
for w^hich disobedience Schuyler brought upon him
the censure of congress, and having consulted with
Seth Warner of Vermont, Stark made his bivouac on
the fourteenth of August at the distance of a mile
from the post of Baum, to whom he vainly offered
battle. The regiment of Warner came down from
Manchester during the rain of the fifteenth; and
troops arrived from the westernmost county of
Massachusetts.
When the sun rose on the sixteenth. Stark con-
certed with his officers the plan for the day.
Seeing small bands of men, in shirt-sleeves and
carrying fowling-pieces without bayonets, steal be-
hind his camp, Baum mistook them for friendly
country people placing themselves where he could
1 Burgoyne to Baum, 14 August, seven at night.
PROGRESS OF THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH. 385
protect them ; and so five hundred men under chap.
... . . XXII.
Nichols and Herrick vmited in his rear. While his v^-y— ^
attention was arrested by a feint, two hundred ^'^'^'^'
more posted themselves on his right; and Stark,
with two or three hundred, took the front. At
three o'clock Baum was attacked on every side.
The Indians dashed between two detachments, and
fled, leaving their grand chief and others on the
field. New England sharp-shooters ran up within
eight yards ^ of the loaded cannon, to pick off the
cannoneers. AVhen, after about two hours, the fir-
ing of the Brunswickers slackened from scarcity of
powder, the Americans scaled the breastwork and
fought them hand to hand. Baum ordered his infan-
try with the bayonet, his dragoons with their sabres,
to force a way ; but he fell mortally wounded, and
his veteran troops surrendered.
Just then the battalions of Breymann, having
taken thirty hours to march twenty-four miles,
came in sight. Warner now first brought up his
regiment, of one hundred and fifty men, into action,
and with their aid Stark began a new attack, using
the cannon just taken. The fight raged till sunset,
when Breymann, abandoning his artillery and most
of his wounded men, ordered a retreat. The pur-
suit continued till nightj those who escaped owed
their safety to the darkness. During the day less
than thirty of the Americans were killed, and
about forty were wounded ; the loss of their enemy
was estimated at full twice as many, besides at
least six hundred and ninety-two prisoners, of whom
more than four hundred were Germans.
1 Schlozer's Briefwechsel, iii. 39.
VOL. IX. 33
386 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
cw^^p. This victory, one of the most brilliant and event-
^"^-Y — ' fill of the war, was achieved spontaneously by the
husbandmen of New Hampshire, Vermont, and west-
ern Massachusetts. Stark only confirms the reports
of German officers when he writes : " Had our
people been Alexanders or Charleses of Sweden,
they could not have behaved better."
At the news of Breymann's retreat, the general
ordered his army under arms ; and at the head of
the forty-seventh regiment he forded the Battenkill,
to meet the worn-out fugitives. The loss of troops
was irreparable. Many of the Canadians deserted ;
the Indians of the remote nations began to leave
in disgust. For supplies Burgoyne was thrown
back upon shipments from England, painfully trans-
ported from Quebec by way of Lake Champlain
and Lake George to the Hudson river. Before he
can move forward, he must, with small means
of transportation, bring together stores for thirty
days, and drag nearly two hundred boats over
two long carrying-places.
Burgoyne's campaign had proceeded as foreshad-
owed by Washington ; yet the anxious c£^^e of
congress concentred itself there. On the first of
August, it relieved Schuyler from command by an
almost unanimous vote, and on the fourth eleven
states elected Gates his successor. Before he as-
sumed the command. Fort Stanwix was safe and the
victory of Bennington achieved; yet it hastened to
vote him all the powers and all the aid which
Schuyler in his moods of despondency had entreated.
Touched by the ringing appeals of Washington,
thousands of the men of Massachusetts, even from
PROGRESS OF THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH. 387
the counties of Middlesex and Essex, were in motion chap.
towards Saratoga. Congress, overriding Washing- ^ — -r-^
ton's advice, gave Schuyler's successor plenary power
to make requisitions for additional numbers of mili-
tia on New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Washington had culled from his troops five hundred
riflemen, and formed them under Morgan into the
best corps of skirmishers that had ever been at-
tached to an army ; congress directed them to be
sent immediately to assist Gates against the In-
dians ; and Washington obeyed so promptly, that
the order may seem to have been his own.
CHAPTER XXIII.
SIR WILLIAM HOWE TAKES PHILADELPHIA.
August — September 26,1777.
CHAP. The favor lavished on the new chief of the north-
^--Y — ' ern department raised a doubt whether Washington
17 7 7 •
August. ^^ more than the first among peers, till congress
declared that "they never intended to supersede
or circumscribe his power;" but, partly from an
unwillingness to own their mistakes, partly from
the pride of authority, not unmixed with jealousy
of his manifest superior popularity, they did not
scruple to slight his advice and to neglect his
wants. Though forewarned by him of the hopeless
confusion that would ensue, they remodelled the
commissary department in the midst of the cam-
paign on a system which had neither unity nor
subordination, and which no competent men would
undertake to execute. Washington had endeavored
to form the heart of his army of national troops,
raised and officered directly by the United States:
congress, after giving their formal consent, thwarted
the scheme by their frowns. The general "used
SIR WILLIAM HOWE TAKES PHILADELPHIA. 389
every means in his power to destroy all kinds of chap.
state distinction in the army, and to have every wV^
part and parcel of it considered as continental:" ^'^'^^'
congress, fast yielding to a system of politics
founded on the paramount sovereignty of the sev-
eral states, more and more reserved to their sepa-
rate constituencies the business of recruiting and
the appointment of all but general officers ; and as
these followed different modes in their levies and
their appointments, there was no unity in the camp.
Political considerations had controlled the nomina-
tion of officers, of whom nearly all w^ere inexpe-
rienced, many unteachable, and some of untried
courage ; but congress had not vigor enough to
drop the incapable, and in their frugality expected
that every one of them would be employed. The
confusion was made worse by the numerous com-
missions to foreign adventurers, who thronged to
the commander-in-chief with extravagant preten-
sions, and made the army "a just representation
of a great chaos." "The wearisome wrangles be-
tween militarv officers scramblino; for rank" drew
members of congress into cabals. A reacting "spirit
of reformation " was at first equally undiscerning ;
Kalb and Lafayette, arriving at Philadelphia near
the end of July, met a rude repulse. When it was
told that Lafayette desired no more than leave to
risk his life in the cause of liberty, without pension
or allowance, congress gave him the rank of major-
general ; but at first the services of Kalb, the ablest
European officer who had come over, master of Eng-
lish, and familiar with the country, were rejected.
At this critical moment, the army of Washington
33*
390
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP.
XXIII.
1TT7.
was grievously weakened by Sullivan. That officer,
who was stationed with his division at Hanover in
New Jersey, that he might move rapidly to the
Hudson or to Philadelphia, planned the surprise of
some Jersey loyalists encamped on Staten Island.
Ogden, with a company under Fi^elinghuysen and
two regiments, landed from three boats to the
south of Freshkills, and though a man-of-war in
New York bay fired alarm - cannon, he captured
more than eighty men, drove the fugitives to in-
trenchments near Prince's bay, and returned sea-
sonably with his prisoners. Sullivan, who at two
in the afternoon of the twenty-first of August left
Hanover with one thousand picked men, during the
following night crossed from Elizabethport to Staten
Island. Before day he divided his force, sending
one part of it in the direction of what is now New
Brighton, and leading the other towards Freshkills.
On his march he dragged off eight-and-twenty tory
civilians, picked up as many more stragglers, and
searched the houses of Quakers, where he found
papers, which, when transmitted to congress, caused
the exile of a few Pennsylvanians to Virginia ; but
he " missed the opportunity of reaping decided ad-
vantages." Precious time was lost in reuniting his
corps; and when British and German regiments
came near, his rear -guard was left behind to be
captured. By this -ill-timed and ill-conducted expe-
dition, Sullivan lost about two hundred of his ver}^
best troops, and so fatigued those who escaped,
that he could not obey the orders which met him
on his return, to join Washington with all speed.
Leaving more than seven regiments in Rhode
177T.
SIR WILLIAM HOVVE TAKES PHILADELPHIA. 391
Island, and about six thousand men under Sir chap.
XX HI.
Henry Clinton at New York, Howe began on the
fifth of July to embark the main body of his
army for a joint expedition with the naval force
against Philadelphia. The troops, alike foot and
cavalry, waited on shipboard in the stifling heat
till the twenty - third, for their indolent general.
The fleet of nearly three hundred sail spent seven
days in beating from Sandy Hook to the capes
of Delaware. On the report that the river was
obstructed, it went for the Chesapeake, laveering
against the stiff southerly wdnds of the season.
August was half gone when it turned Cape Charles;
then, ascending the bay, and passing Annapolis, of
which the little guard hung out its banner, on the
twenty-fifth, after a voyage of thirty-three days, it
anchored in Elk river, six miles below Elktown
and fifty-four miles from Philadelphia.
Expressing the strange judgments and opinions
of many of his colleagues, John Adams could write :
"We shall rake and scrape enough to do Howe's
business ; the continental army under Washington is
more numerous by several thousands than Howe's
whole force ; the enemy give out that they are
eighteen thousand strong, but we know better, and
that they have not ten thousand. Washington is
very prudent ; I should put more to risk, were
I in his shoes ; but perhaps he is right. Ganse-
voort has proved that it is possible to hold a post,
and Stark that it is practicable even to attack
lines and posts, with militia. I wish the conti-
nental army would prove that anything can be
done. I am weary wdth so much insipidity; I am
177T.
392 AMERICAK IKDEPENDENCE.
OTAP. sick of Fabian systems. My toast is, a short and
violent war." Now at that time the army of Howe,
in excellent health, counted at the lowest state-
ments seventeen thousand one hundred and sixty-
seven ^ men, beside the corps of engineers ; or,
according to returns in the British department of
state, nineteen thousand five hundred effective men,^
and the officers amounted to at least one fifth as
many more. Officers and men were soldiers by
profession, selected from the best of the British
empire and the best of the warlike race of Hesse,
and perfectly equipped.
Congress gave itself the air of efficiency by call-
ing out the militia of Maryland, Delaware, Pennsyl-
vania, and New Jersey; but New Jersey had to watch
the force on the Hudson ; the slaveholders on the
Maryland eastern shore and in the southern county
of Delaware were disaffected ; the new government
in Pennsylvania, which possessed no store of arms
and had relaxed its preparations in the confidence
that the danger was past, was hateful to a great
majority of the inhabitants, and continued to be
split hy selfish factions even in the presence of the
enemy. The number of Pennsylvania militia with
Washington did not exceed twelve hundred, and
did not increase beyond twenty-five hundred; Mifflin,
the quartermaster-general, though a Pennsylvanian,
rendered no service whatever. There was no hope
of a rising of the people around ; and the really
1 Miinchhausen's statement, with ried with him from New York
the addition of six hundred and six- 19.500." Sir William Howe's Army
ty-nine artillerists whom he omit- Campaign, 1777, in state-paper oi-
ted. MS. fice, America and West Indies,
8 " He [Sir William Howe] car- cclxix.
SIR WILLIAM HOWE TAKES PHILADELPHIA. 393
effective men under Washino-ton, ineludino; militia, chap.
... XXIII.
volunteers, and the division of Sullivan, were but v^-y-^
about eleven thousand five hundred. 1777.
Congress never exacted more from Washington,
and never gave him less support ; but he indulged
in no complaint, and his cheerful courage had root
in his own fortitude. His army reflected his patriot-
ism, and the presence of enthusiasts from Europe
proved to him the good -will of other nations.
There the young Marquis de Lafayette, received
into his family as a volunteer without command,
risked life for the rights of man. The Marquis
de la Rouerie, at home the victim of a misplaced love,
called in America Colonel Armand, commanded an
independent corps of such recruits as could not
speak English. The recklessly daring Pulaski, whose
eager zeal had wrought no good for his own coun-
try, an exile from Poland, now gave himself to the
New World.
On the twenty-fourth of August, Washington led
his troops, decorated with sprays of green, through
the crowded streets of Philadelphia to overawe the
disaffected; the next day he reached Wilmington
just as the British anchored in the Elk wdth the
purpose of marching upon Philadelphia by an easy
inland route through an open country which had
no difficult passes, no rivers but fordable ones, and
was inhabited chiefly by royalists and Quakers.
Until Sullivan, after more than a week, brought up
his division, the American army, which advanced to
the highlands beyond Wilmington, was not more
than half as numerous as the British ; but Howe
from the waste of horses by his long voyage was
394 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, compelled to inactivity till others could be seized
' — Y-^ or purchased.
On the third of September, the two divisions un-
der Cornwallis and Knyphausen began the march
towards Philadelphia; by Washington's order Max-
well and the light troops, formed by drafts of one
hundred men from each brigade, occupied Iron hill,
and after a sharp skirmish in the woods with a
body of German yagers who were supported by
light infantry, withdrew slowly and in perfect order.
For two days longer Howe waited that he might
transfer his wounded men to the hospital-ship of
the fleet, and purchase still more means of trans-
portation. Four miles from him Washington took
post behind Red Clay creek, and invited an attack,
encouraging his troops by speeches, by his own
bearing, and by spirited general orders. On the
eighth, Howe sent a strong column in front of the
Americans to feign an attack, while his main army
halted at Milltown. The British and Germans were
rejoicing over the march so wisely planned, and as
it was believed so secretly executed, and went to
rest in full confidence of turning Washington's right
on the morrow, and so cutting him off from the
road to Lancaster. But at dawn on the ninth the
American army was not to be seen. Washington
divined his enemy's purpose, and by a masterly
and really secret movement took post on the high
grounds above Chad's ford on the north side of the
Brandywine, directly in Howe's path.
Inferior in numbers and in arms, yet bent on
earnest work, Washington disembarrassed his troops
of their baggage and sent it forward to Chester.
n
SIR WILLIAM HOWE TAKES PHILADELPHIA. 395
A battery of cannon with a good parapet guarded chap.
the ford. The American left, resting on a thick, ^1^^
continuous forest along the Brandywine, which be- i"'^''"^'
low Chad's ford becomes a rapid encumbered by
rocks and shut in by abrupt, high banks, was suffi-
ciently defended by Armstrong and the Pennsyl-
vania militia. On the right the river was hidden
by thick woods and the unevenness of the coun-
try; to Sullivan, the first in rank after the general,
was assigned the duty of taking "every necessary
precaution for the security of that flank," ^ and the
six brigades of his command, consisting of the di-
visions of Stirling, and of Stephen, and his own,
were stationed in echelons along the river.
On the tenth the two divisions of the British ar-
my, led respectively by Knyphausen and Cornwallis,
formed a junction at Kennet Square. At five the
next morning more than half of Howe's army, leav-
ing all their baggage even to their knapsacks be-
hind them, and led by trusty guides, marched
under the general and Cornwallis up the Great
Valley road to cross the Brandywine at its forks.
About ten o'clock, Knyphausen with his column,
coming upon the river at Chad's ford, seven miles
lower down, halted and began a long cannonade,
manifesting no purpose of forcing the passage.
Washington had *' certain" information of the move-
ment of Howe ; less than half of the British army,
encumbered with the bacrcrao-e of the whole, was in
his front, and its communication with the fleet had
been given up. He, therefore, resolved to strike at
once at the division with Knyphausen; if nothing
* Sparks's Washington, v. 109, correcting Sullivan's misstatement
396 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
XXIII
1777.
CHAP, more were done, a serious damage to its means of
transportation would change the aspect of the cam-
paign. As Washington rode up and down his lines
the loud shouts of his men witnessed their love
and confidence, and as he spoke to them in earnest
and cheering words they clamored for battle. Send-
ing word to Sullivan to cross the Brandywine at a
higher ford, and thus prevent the hasty return of
the body with Howe and Cornwallis while at the
same time he would threaten the left flank of
Knyphausen, Washington put his troops in motion.
Greene with the advance was at the river's edge
and about to begin the attack, when a message
came from Sullivan, announcing that he had dis-
obeyed his orders, that the "information on which
these orders were founded must be wrong."
The information on which Washington acted, was
precisely correct; he had made the best possible
arrangement for an attack; his activity and courage
equalled the wisdom of his judgment;^ but the
failure of Sullivan overthrew the design, which for
success required swiftness of execution. After the
loss of two hours, word was brought that the di-
vision of Cornwallis had passed the forks and was
coming down with the intent to turn the American
right. On the instant Sullivan was ordered to
confront the advance. Lord Stirling and Stephen
posted their troops in two lines on a rounded emi-
nence southwest of Birmingham meeting-house;
while Sullivan, who should have gone to their riglit,
marched his division far beyond their extreme left,
leaving a gap of a half-mile between them, so that
1 Chastellux, i. 205.
SIR WILLIAM HOWE TAKES PHILADELPHIA. 397
he could render no service, and was exposed to be chap.
XXIH.
cut off. The other general officers, whom he "rode ^^^^
on to consult," explained to him the faultiness ^''^ ''"''•
of his position, by which the right of his wing
was unprotected. Upon this, Sullivan undertook
to march his division from a half-mile beyond the
left^ to his proper place on the right. The British
troops, which beheld this movement as they lay
at rest for a full hour after their long march in the
hot day, were led to the attack before he could
form his line. His division, badly conducted, fled
without their artillery, and could not be rallied.
Their flight exposed the flank of Stirling and Ste-
phen. These two divisions, only half as numerous
as their assailants, in spite of the "unofficerlike be-
havior"^ of Stephen, fought in good earnest, using
their artillery from a distance, their muskets only
when their enemy was within forty paces ; but un-
der the vigorous charge of the Hessians and British
grenadiers, who vied with each other in fury as
they ran forward with the bayonet, the Amer-
ican line continued to break from the right. Con-
way's brigade resisted well ; Sullivan, so worthless
as a general, showed personal courage ; Lafayette,
present as a volunteer, braved danger, and though
wounded in the leg while rallying the fugitives,
bound up the wound as he could, and kept the
field till the close of the battle. The third Vir-
ginia regiment, commanded by Marshall and sta-
tioned apart in a wood, held out till both its flanks
1 Sullivan to Conjrress, 27 Sept. tial to a correct understanding of the
1777, in Farmer and Moore's Col- battle.
lections, ii. 210. This letter of Sul- 8 VVashinjzton's charire against
livan's is not in Sparks, but is essen- Stephen before the court-raartial.
VOL. IX. 34
398 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, were turned and half its officers and one third its
>^->^-^^ men were killed or wounded.
Howe seemed likely to get in the rear of the
continental army and complete its overthrow. But
at the sound of the cannon on the rifjrht, takinsr
with him Greene and the two brigades of Muhlen-
berg and Weedon, which lay nearest the scene of
action, Washington marched swiftly^ to the support
of the wing that had been confided to SuUivan,
and in about forty minutes met them in full re-
treat. His approach checked the pursuit. Cau-
tiously making a new disposition of his forces,
Howe again pushed forward, driving the party
with Greene till they came upon a strong posi-
tion, chosen by Washington, which completely com-
manded the road, and which a regiment of Virgin-
ians under Stevens and another of Pennsylvanians
under Stewart w^ere able to hold till nightfall.
In the heat of the engagement the division with
Knyphausen crossed the Brandywine in one body at
Chad's ford. The left wing of the Americans, under
the command of Wayne, defended their intrench-
ments against an attack in front; but when, near
1 " Four miles In forty minutes." Henry D. Gilpin was my guide from
Muhlenberg's Muhlenberg, 94. " In Wilminjrton up the river. Perhaps
forty-two nnnutes near four miles." this rapid march was less than three
Gordon, ii. 511. "Between three miles. The difficulty of fixing the
and four miles in forty-five minutes." distance exactly grows out of the un-
Greene to Henry Marchant, 25 July, certainty of the spot whence VVash-
17 78. " At least four miles in forty- ington took the brigades, which at
nine minutes." Johnson's Greene, i. any rate were nearest to his right
76. " Five miles in less than fifty wing, of the spot where he met the
minutes." Irving's Washington, iii. fugitives, and of his line of march,
207. whether round about by the road or
In company with my classmate Ar- across the woods and fields. I think
thur Lanjjdon Elwyn of Philadel- the former survevor of wild lands did
phia, I passed a day on the ground not go so much round about as a
of the Brandywine battle ; my friend poorer woodsman might have done.
SIR WILLIAM HOWE TAKES PHILADELPHIA. 399
the close of the day, a stronor detachment threat- chap.
XXIII
ened their rear, they made a well-ordered retreat, ^-^-^
and were not pursued. ittt
The battle seemed to be over. Night was fall-
ing, when two battalions of British grenadiers un-
der Meadow and Monckton received orders to oc-
cupy a cluster of houses on a hill beyond Dilworth.
They marched carelessly, the officers with sheathed
swords. At fifty paces from »the first house they
were surprised by a deadly fire from Maxwell's
corps, which lay in ambush to cover the American
retreat. The British officers sent for help, but were
nearly routed before General Agnew could bring
up a sufficient force to their relief^ The Amer-
icans then withdrew, and darkness ended the con-
test.
At midnight Washington from Chester seized the
first moment of respite to report to congress his
defeat, making no excuses, casting blame on no one,
not even alluding to the disparity of forces, but
closing with cheering words. His losses, in killed,
wounded, and prisoners,^ were about one thou-
sand, less rather than more. Except the severely
wounded, few prisoners were taken. A howitzer
and ten cannon, among them two Hessian field-
pieces captured at Trenton, were left on the field.
Several of the French officers behaved with great
gallantry : Mauduit Duplessis ; Lewis de Fleury,
whose horse was shot under him and whose merit
congress recognised by vote; Lafayette, of whom
1 Ewakl's Beyspiele Grosser Ilel- 8 Munchhausen reports: "We
den, ii. 337-340. EwaliJ was an took few prisoners in the battle."
eye-witness.
400 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. Washington said to the suro-eon : " Take care of
XXIII. .
^^^ him as though he were my son." Pulaski the
1777. PqIq^ ^]^q qj^ ^Y^r^^ ^Q^y showed the daring of ad-
venture rather than the quahties of a commander,
was created a brigadier of cavalry.
The loss of the British army in killed and
wounded was at least five hundred and seventy-
nine, of whom fifty-eight were officers. Of the
Hessian officers, Ewajd and Wreden received from
the elector a military order. Howe showed his
usual courage, pressing fearlessly through fire of
musketry and cannon. His plan was with his right
to employ Washington's left wing, while he should
in person turn the American right wing, hurl it
down upon the Brandywine, and crush the whole
army between his own two divisions. In this he
failed. He won the field of battle ; but nightfall,
the want of cavalry, and the extreme fatigue of
his army forbade pursuit.^
When congress heard of the defeat at the Bran-
dywine, it directed Putnam to send forward fifteen
hundred continental troops with all possible expe-
dition, and summoned continental troops and mi-
litia from Maryland and Virginia. It desired the
militia of New Jersey to lend their aid, but they
were kept at home by a triple raid of Sir Henry
Clinton for cattle. The assembly of Pennsylvania
1 Lafayette describes the failure to have turned and attacked them,
to pursue that night as the greatest Lafayette's statenjent of the confu-
fault of the war. But Howe could sion of the retreat is but a renilnis-
not have pursued except at a great cence ; the troops of Wayne, Greene,
risk. The larger part of his army Armstrong, Maxcy, retreated with-
was worn out with fatigue ; and had out disorder, and Evyald's account
Knyphausen been sent in the night proves that the retreat was well
with the Hessians, Washington could guarded. But compare Du Portail
have mustered trusty troops enough in ISIahon's England vii. App. xxvii.
Sm WILLIAM nOWE TAKES PHILADELPHIA. 401
did little, for it was rent by faction ; and it chose chap
this moment to supersede nearly all its delegates sUv-^*^
in congress by new appointments. The people ^'^'^'^^
along Howe's route adhered to the king or were
passive. Negro slaves uttered prayers for his suc-
cess, for the opinion among them was "general /
that if the British power should be victorious all (
the negro slaves would become free."
Washington, who had marched from Chester to
German town, after having supplied his men with
provisions and forty rounds of cartridge, recrossed
the Schuylkill to confront once more the army of
Howe, who had been detained near the Brandy-
wine till he could send his w^ounded to Wilming-
ton. The two chiefs, equally eager for battle,
marched toward Goshen. On the sixteenth, Donop
and his yagers, who pressed forward too rapidly,
w^as encountered by Wayne, and narrowly escaped
being cut off; but before the battle became gen-
eral a furious rain set in, which continued all the
next night; and the American army, from the
poor quality of their accoutrements, had their car-
tridges drenched, so that Washington was obliged
to retire to replenish his ammunition.
It was next the purpose of the British to turn
Washington's right, so as to cut off his connec-
tions and shut him up between the rivers; but
he took care to hold the roads to the south as
w^ell as to the north and west. Late on the
eighteenth, Alexander Hamilton, who was sent to
Philadelphia to secure military stores in public and
in private warehouses, gave congress a false alarm ;
and its members, now few in number, rose from
34*
402 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, their beds and fled in the nis:ht to meet at Lancas-
xxin.
w-,^ ter. But Howe moved always compactly and with
^^''^^' caution, never sending a detached party beyond
supporting distance.
When, on the nineteenth, Washington's army
passed through the Schuylkill at Parker's ford,
Wayne, who was left with a large body of troops
to fiill upon any detached party of Howe's army,
or to destroy its baggage, wrote chidingly to Wash-
ington: "There never was, there never will be, a
finer opportunity of giving the enemy a fatal blow;
Howe knows nothing of my situation ; I have taken
every precaution to prevent any intelligence getting
to him, at the same time keeping a watchful eye
on his front, flanks, and rear." On the night follow-
ing the twentieth, Wayne had called up his men
to make a junction with Maxwell, when Major-
General Grey of the British army, with three regi-
ments, broke in upon them by surprise, and, using
the bayonet only, killed, wounded, or took at least
three hundred. Darkness and Wayne's presence
of mind saved his cannon and the rest of his
troops.
The loss was heavy to bear, and opened the
way to Philadelphia. John Adams blamed Wash-
ington without stint for having crossed to the east-
ern side of the Schuylkill: "It is a very injudi-
cious manoeuvre. If he had sent one brigade of
his regular troops to have headed the militia, he
might have cut to pieces Howe's army in attempt-
ing to cross any of the fords. Howe will not
attempt it. He will wait for his fleet in Delaware
river. 0 Heaven, grant us one great soul ! One
SIR WILLIAM HOWE TAKES PHILADELPHIA. 403
leadino: mind would extricate the best cause from chap
XXIII.
that ruin which seems to await it." .— ^^— ^
While John Adams was writing, Howe moved ^'^'^'^•
down the valley, and encamped along the Schuyl-
kill from Valley Forge to French creek. There
were many fords on the rapid river, which in those
days flowed at its will. On the twenty-second a
small party of Howe's army forced the passage at
Gordon's ford. The following night and morning
the main body of the British army crossed at Fat-
land ford near Valley Forge, and encamped with
its left to the Schuylkill. Congress disguised its
impotence by voting Washington power to change
officers under brigadiers, and by inviting him to
support his army upon the country around him.
He was too weak to risk a battle ; nor could he
by swift marches hang on his enemy's rear, foi
more than a thousand of his men were barefoot.
Kejoined by Wayne, and strengthened by a thou-
sand Marylanders under Smallwood, he sent a per-
emptory order to Putnam, who was wildly plan-
ning attacks on Staten Island, Paulus-hook, New
York, and Long Island, to forward a detachment of
twenty-five hundred 'men " with the least possible
delay," and to draw his remaining forces together,
so that with aid from the militia of New York and
Connecticut "the passes in the Highlands might be
perfectly secure." Knowing the very great rela-
tive superiority of the northern army in numbers,
he i'equested Gates to return the corps of Morgan,
being resolved, if he could but be properly sec-
onded, to force the army of Howe to retreat or
capitulate before winter.
404 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. On the twenty-fifth, that army encamped at Ger-
XXIII. ./ ' ^ X
s.^V^ mantown ; and the next morning, Cornwallis, with
^'^'^'^' the grenadiers, took possession of Philadelphia.
The course of the campaign decided the result
at the north. Howe was to have taken Philadel-
phia in time to aid Burgoyne ; to oppose Bur-
goyne, Washington bared himself of his best troops,
and with an inferior force detained Howe thirty
days, on a march of fifty-four miles, till it was too
late for him to fulfil his instructions.
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE CAPITULATION OF BURGOYNE.
»
August 19 — October 20, 1777.
On the nineteenth of August Gates assumed the chap.
command of the northern army, which lay nine v^..^
miles above Albany, near the mouths of the Mo- ^^^'^^
hawk. Repelling groundless complaints of ill treat- °*
ment of those captured at Bennington, he taunted
Burgoyne in rhetorical and exaggerated phrases
with the murders and scalpings by the Indians in
his employ. On the return of the battalions with
Arnold and the arrival of the corps of Morgan, his
continental troops, apart from continual accessions
of militia, outnumbered the British and German
regulars whom he was to meet. Artillery and small
arms were received from France by an arrival at
Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and New York freely
brought out its resources.
The war of America was a war of ideas more Sept
than of material power. On the ninth of Septem-
ber, Jay, the first chief justice of the new com-
monwealth of New York, opened its supreme court
406 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
XXIV ^^ Kingston, and charged the grand jury in these
words : " Free, mild, and equal government begins
to rise. Divine Providence has made the tyranny
of princes instrumental in breaking the chains of
their subjects. Whoever compares our present with
our former constitution will admit that all the
calamities incident to this war will be amply com-
pensated by the many blessings flowing from this
glorious revolution, which in its rise and progress
is distinguished by so many marks of the divine
favor and interposition that no doubt can remain
of its being finally accomplished. Thirteen colonies
immediately become one people, and unanimousl}^
determine to be free. The people of this state
have chosen their constitution under the guidance
of reason and experience. The highest respect has
been paid to those great and equal rights of hu-
man nature which should forever remain inviolate
in every society. You will know no power but
such as you create, no laws but such as acquire
all their obligation from your consent. The rights
of conscience and private judgment are by nature
subject to no control but that of the Deity, and
in that free situation they are now left. Happy
would it be for all mankind, if the opinion pre-
vailed that the gospel of Christ would not fall,
though unsupported by the arm of flesh."
While Jay aflirmed these principles of public jus-
tice and wisdom, Gates, after twenty days of inac-
tivity, moved his army up the Hudson to Stillwater.
On the twelfth they advanced and encamped on a
spur of hills jutting out nearly to the Hudson,
known as Behmus's heights. They counted nine
THE CAPITULATION OF BURGOYNE. 407
thousand effectives, most of them husbandmen and chap.
XXIV.
freeholders, or the sons of freeholders, well armed,
except that but three soldiers in ten had bayonets,
conscious of superior strength, eager for action.
They kindled with anger and scorn at the horrid
barbarities threatened by Burgoyne; above all, they
were enthusiasts for the freedom of mankind and
the independence of their country, now to be se-
cured by their deeds. As they looked one into
the countenance of another, they saw the common
determination to wdn the victory. Gates had no
fitness for command, and wanted personal courage ;
the removal of Schuyler was passionately resented
by a few New Yorkers; and Arnold, who assumed
the part of Schuyler's friend, was quarrelsome and
insubordinate : but the patriotism of the army was
so deep and universal, that it gave no heed to
doubts or altercations.
After the toils of five weeks, a hundred and
eighty boats were hauled by relays of horses over
the two portages between Lake George and the
river at Saratoga, and laden with one month's pro-
visions for the army of Burgoyne. And now he
was confronted by the question, what he should
do. He had been greatly weakened, and Howe
refused him aid ; but he remembered that Germain
had censured Carleton because he would "hazard
nothing with the troops ; '* so, consulting no one
of his officervS, reading over his instructions a hun-
dred times, and reserving the excuse for failure
that his orders were peremptory, he called in all his
men, gave up his connections, and with less than
six thousand rank and file thought to force his
408 AMERICA:^' i:n'dependence.
S^v ^^^ *^ Albany. On the thirteenth of September
> — Y — ' his army with its splendid train of artillery crossed
Sept* ^^^ Hudson at Schuylerville by a bridge of boats.
At once Lincoln, from Manchester, carrying out
a plan concerted with Gates, sent five hundred
light troops without artillery, under Colonel John
Brown of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to distress the
British in their rear. In the morning twilight
of the eighteenth Brown surprised the outposts of
Ticonderoga, including Mount Defiance ; and with
the loss of not more than nine killed and wounded,
he set free one hundred American prisoners, cap-
tured four companies of regulars and others who
guarded the newly made portage between Lake
Champlain and Lake George, in all two hundred
and ninety- three men with arms equal to their
number and five cannon, and destroyed one hun-
dred and Mty boats below the falls of Lake George
and fifty above them, including gunboats and an
armed sloop. Not being strong enough to carry
Fort Independence, or Ticonderoga, or Diamond isl-
and in Lake George, the party with their trophies
rejoined Lincoln.
Meantime, the army of Burgoyne, stopping to
rebuild bridges and repair roads, advanced scarcely
four miles in as many days. By this time the
well-chosen camp of the Americans had been made
very strong; their right touched the Hudson and
could not be assailed ; their left was a high ridge
of hills ; their lines were protected by a breast-
work. Burgoyne must dislodge them if he would
get forward. His army moved on the nineteenth,
as on former days, in three columns: the artillery,
THE CAPITULATION OF BURGOYNE. 409
protected by Riedesel and Brunswick troops, took chap.
the road through the meadows near the river; the v^-,^
general in person led the centre across a deep ra- ^gJJ]*
vine to a field on Freeman's farm ; while Fraser,
with the right, made *a circuit upon the ridge to
occupy heights from which the left of the Ameri-
cans could be assailed. Indians, Canadians, and to-
nes hovered on the front and flanks of the several
columns.
In concurrence w^ith the advice of Arnold, Gates
ordered out Morgan's riflemen and the light infan-
try. They put a picket to flight at a quarter past
one, but retired before the division of Burgoyne.
Leading: his force unobserved throut^h the woods,
and securing his own right by thickets and ravines,
Morgan next fell unexpectedly upon the left of the
British central division. To support him, Gates, at
two o'clock, sent out three New Hampshire battal-
ions, of which that of Scammel met the enemy in
front, that of Cilley took them in flank. In a warm
engagement, Morgan had his horse shot under him,
and with his riflemen captured a cannon, but could
not carry it off. From half-past two there was a
lull of a half-hour, during which Phillips brought
more artillery against the Americans, and Gates
ordered out two regiments of Connecticut militia
under Cook. At three the battle became general,
and it raged till after sundown. Fraser sent to the
aid of Burgoyne such detachments as he could
spare without endangering his own position, which
was the object of the day. At four Gates ordered
out the New York regiment of Cortlandt, followed
in a halfhour by that of Henry Livingston. The
VOL. IX 35
410 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, battle was marked by the obstinate courage of tne
XXIV. . "^ o
' — Y — ' Americans, but by no manoeuvre: man fouo^ht ap^ainst
,g j^' man, regnnent against regunent. A party would
drive the British from the cannon which had been
taken, and they would rally and recover it hy
' their superiority with the bayonet ; but when they
advanced it was only to fall back before the
deadly fire from the wood. The Americans used
no artillery ; the British employed several field-
pieces and with effect; but Jones, who commanded
the principal battery, was killed, and some of his
officers, and thirty-six out of forty-eight matrosses
were killed or wounded. At five, all too late in
the day. Brigadier Learned was ordered with all
his brigade and a Massachusetts regiment to the
enemy's rear. Before the sun went down Burgoyne
was in danger of a rout ; the troops about him
wavered, when Riedesel, with more than a single
regiment and two cannon, struggling through the
thickets, across a ravine, climbed the hill, and
charo:ed the Americans on their ris^ht flank. Even-
ing was at hand ; those of the Americans who
had been eno-aoced for more than three hours had
nearly exhausted their ammunition, and they quietly
withdrew within their lines, taking with them their
wounded and a hundred captives. On the British
side three major-generals came on the field ; on
the American side not one,^ nor a brigadier till
near its close. The glory of the day was due to
1 Arnold was not on the field. So pretation. " General Arnold not
■witnesses Wilkinson, whom Marshall being present in the battle of the
^ knew personally and believed.- So 19th of September." R. R. Liv-
said the informers of Gordon : His- injrston to Washington, 14 January,
tory, ii. 551. Letters of Arnold 1778.
and Gates admit of no other inter-
THE CAPITULATION OF BURG0Y]S5'E. 411
the several reociments, which foiiorht in unison, and chap.
XXIV.
needed only an able general to have utterly routed
Burgoyne's division. Of the Americans, praise justly
fell upon Morgan of Virginia and Scammel of New
Hampshire ; none offered their lives nK)re freely
than the continental regiment of Cilley and the
Connecticut militia of Cook. The American loss,
including the wounded and missing, proved less
than three hundred and twenty; among the dead
was the brave and meritorious Lieutenant- Colonel
Andrew Colburn of New Hampshire. This acci-
dental battle crippled the British force irretrievably.
Their loss exceeded six hundred. Of the sixty-
second regfiment. which left Canada five hundred
strong, there remained less than sixty men and
four or five officers. " Tell my uncle I died like
a soldier," were the last words of Hervey, one of
its lieutenants, a boy of sixteen, who was mortally
wounded. A shot from a rifle, meant for Bur-
goyne, struck an officer at his side.
The separated divisions of the British army passed
the night in bivouac under arms ; that of Burgoyne
on the field of battle. Morning revealed to them
their desperate condition ; to all former difficulties
was added the encumbrance of their wounded. Their
dead were buried promiscuously, except that offi-
cers were thrown into holes by themselves, in one
pit three of the twentieth regiment, of whom the
oldest was not more than seventeen.
An attack upon the remains of Burgoyne's di-
vision while it "was still disconnected and without
intrenchments was uro;ed bv Arnold with all the
chances of a victory; but such a movement did not
412 AMERICAN INDEPENDEKCE.
CHAP, suit the timid nature of Gates, who waited for
XXIV.
w-^ ammunition and more troops, till his effective men
gj^* outnumbered his enemies by three or even four to
one. A quarrel ensued ; and Arnold demanded and
received a passport for Philadelphia. Repenting
of his rashness, the restless and insubordinate man
lingered in the camp, but could no longer obtain
access to Gates, nor a command.
During the twentieth the British general en-
camped his army on the heights near Freeman's
house, so near the American lines that he could
not retreat or make a movement unobserved. With
no possibility of escape but by a speedy retreat^
on the twenty-first he received from Sir Henry
Clinton a promise of a diversion on Hudson river;
and catching at the phantom of hope, he answered
that he could maintain his position until the twelfth
of October.
Putnam, who commanded on the Hudson, was
unfit to be a general officer. Spies of the British
watched his condition, and he had not sagacity to
discover theirs. Connecticut had been less drawn
upon for the northern army, that its militia might
assist to defend the Highlands ; he had neglected
proper measures for securing their aid, and they
were sent in great numbers to Spencer at Provi-
dence with the vain design of attacking the British
troops at Newport. Meantime, Putnam, in his easy
manner, suffered a large part of the New York
Oct. militia to go home ; so that he now had but about
two thousand men. Sir Henry Clinton, with four
thousand troops, feigned an attack upon Fishkill by
landing troops at Yerplanck's point. Putnam was
THE. CAPITULATION OF BURGOYNE. 413
completely duped ; and doing just as the British chap.
-witched, he retired out of the way to the hills in
the rear of Peekskill. The sagacity of George
Clinton, the governor of New York, knew the point
of danger. With such force as he could collect he
hastened to Fort Clinton, while his brother James
took command of Fort Montgomery. Putnam should
have reenforced their garrisons ; instead of it, he
ordered troops away from them, and left the passes
unguarded. At daybreak oh the sixth of October,
the British and Hessians disembarked at Stony Point;
Vaughan with more than one thousand men ad-
vanced towards Fort Clinton, while a corps of about
a thousand occupied the pass of Dunderberg, and
by a difficult circuitous march of seven miles, at
five o'clock came in the rear of Fort Montgomery.
Vaughan's troops were then ordered to storm Fort
Clinton with the bayonet. A most gallant resist-
ance was made by the governor, but at the close
of twilight the British, by the superiority of num-
bers, forced the works. In like manner Fort Mont-
gomery was carried ; but the two commanders and
almost all of both garrisons escaped into the forest.
A heavy iron chain with a boom had been stretched
across the river from Fort Montgomery to Antho-
ny's nose. This now fell to the British. Over-
ruling the direction of Governor Clinton, Putnam had
ordered down two continental frigates for the de-
fence of the chain ; but as they were badly manned,
one of them could not be got off in time ; the
other grounded opposite West Point ; and both
were set on fire in the night. Fort Constitution,
on the island opposite West Point, was abandoned,
35*
414 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
^HAP. go that the river was open to Albany. When Put-
^^>^^^ nam received laro^e reenforcements from Connecti-
Q^.^^' cut^ he did nothing with them. On the seventh
he wrote to Gates: "I cannot prevent the enemy's
advancing ; prepare for the worst ; " and on the
eighth : " The enemy can take a fair wind, and go
to Albany or Half Moon with great expedition and
without any opposition." But Sir Henry Clinton,
who ought a month sooner to have gone to Al-
bany instead of hunting cattle in New Jersey, gar-
risoned Fort Montgomery, and returned to New
York, leavinsc VauQ;han with a larg-e maraudingr ex-
pedition to ascend the Hudson. Vaughan did no
more than plunder and burn the town of Kingston
on the fifteenth, and pillage and set fire to the
mansions of patriots along the river.
Sept. After the battle of the nineteenth of September
the condition of Burgoyne rapidly grew more per-
plexing. The Americans broke down the bridges
which he had built in his rear, and so swarmed in
the woods that he could gain no just idea of their
situation. His foraging parties and advanced posts
were harassed ; horses grew thin and weak ; the
hospital was cumbered with at least eight hundred
sick and wounded men. One third part of the sol-
dier's ration was retrenched. While the British
army declined in number. Gates was constantly re-
enforced. On the twenty-second Lincoln arrived,
and took command of the right wing; he was fol-
lowed by two thousand militia. The Indians melted
away from Burgoyne, and by the zeal of Schuyler,
contrary to the policy of Gates, a small band,
chiefly of Oneidas, joined the American camp. In
/
THE CAPITULATION OF BURGOYNE. 415
the evening of the fourth of October Burgoyne chap.
called Phillips, Riedesel, and Fraser to council, and « — y-^
proposed to them by a roundabout march to turn ^qI^'
the left of the Americans. . To do this, it was an-
swered, the British must leave their boats and pro-
visions for three days at the mercy of the Amer-
icans. Riedesel advised a swift retreat to Fort
Edward ; but Burgoyne still continued to wait for
a cooperating army from below. On the seventh
he agreed to make a grand reconnoissance, and if
the Americans could not be attacked, he would think
of a retreat. At eleven o'clock on the morning of
that day, seven hundred men of Fraser's command,
three hundred of Breymann's, and five hundred of
Kiedesel's were picked out for the service. The
late hour was chosen, that in case of disaster night
might intervene for their relief They were led
by Burgoyne, who took with him Phillips, Riedesel,
and Fraser. The fate of the army hung on the
event, and not many more than fifteen hundred
men could be spared without exposing the camp;
but never was a body of that number so com-
manded, or composed of more thoroughly trained
soldiers. They entered a field about half a mile
from the Americans, where they formed a line,
and sat down in double ranks, offering battle.
Their artillery, consisting of eight brass pieces and
two howitzers, was well posted ; their front was
open ; the grenadiers under Ackland, stationed in
the forest, protected the left ; Fraser, with the
light infantry and an English regiment, formed the
right, which was skirted by a wooded hill; the
Brunswickers held the centre. While Fraser sent
416 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, foragers into a wheat- field, Canadians, provincialsJ
T -w- -1 .
and Indians were to get upon the American rear.
From his camp, which contained ten or eleven
thousand well-armed soldiers eager for battle, Gates
resolved to send out a force sufficient to over-
whelm his adversaries. By the advice of Morgan,
a simultaneous attack was ordered to be made on
both flanks. Just before three o'clock the column
of the American right, composed of Poor's brigade,
followed by the New York militia under Ten Broeck,
unmoved by the well-directed and well-served grape-
shot from two twelve - pounders and four sixes,
marched on to engage Ackland's grenadiers ; while
the men of Morgan were seen making a circuit, to
reach the flank and rear of the British right, upon
which the American light infantry under Dearborn
descended impetuously from superior ground. In
danger of being surrounded, Burgoyne ordered Fra-
ser with the light infantry and part of the twenty-
fourth regiment to form, a second line in the rear,
so as to secure the retreat of the arm}^ While
executing this order, Fraser received a ball from a
sharp-shooter, and, fatally wounded, was led back to
the camp. Just then, within twenty minutes from
the beginning of the action, the British grenadiers,
suffering from the sharp fire of musketry in front
and flank, wavered and fled, leaving Major Ackland,
their commander, severely wounded. These move-
ments exposed the B runs wickers on both flanks,
and one regiment broke, turned, and fled. It ral-
lied, but only to retreat in less disorder, driven by
the Americans. Sir Francis Clarke, Burgoyne's first
aid, sent to the rescue of the artillery, was mortally
THE CAPITULATION OF BURGOYNE. 417
wounded before he could deliver his message; and ^^^^•
the Americans took all the eight pieces. In the '^ — y — '
face of the hot pursuit, no second line could be q^.^*
formed. Burgoyne exposed himself fearlessly ; a
shot passed through his hat, and another tore his
waistcoat; but he was compelled to give the word
of command for all to retreat to the camp of
Fraser, which lay to the right of head -quarters.
Burgoyne as he entered showed alarm by crying
out : " You must defend the post till the very last
man ! " The Americans pursued with fury, and,
unwisely directed by Arnold, who had ridden upon
the field as an unattended volunteer, without orders,
without any command, without a staff, and beside
himself, yet carrying some authority as the highest
officer present in the action, they made an onset on
the strongest part of the British line, and despite
an abatis and other obstructions, despite musketry-
fire and grape-shot, continued it for more than an
hour, though in vain. Meantime the brigade of
Learned made a circuit and assaulted the quarters
of the regiment of Breymann, which flanked the
extreme right of the British camp, and Avas con-
nected with Fraser's quarters by two stockade re-
doubts, defended by Canadian companies. These
intermediate redoubts were stormed by' a Massachu-
setts regiment headed by John Brooks, afterwards
governor of that state, and were carried with little
loss. Arnold, who had joined a group in this
last assault, lost his horse and was himself badly
wounded within the works. The regiment of Brey-
mann was now exposed in front and rear. Its
colonel, fighting gallantly, was mortally wounded ;
418 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, some of his troops fled; and the rest, about two
hundred in number, surrendered. Colonel Speth,
who led up a small body of Germans to his sup-
port, was taken prisoner. The position of Brey-
mann was the key to Burgoyne's camp ; but the
directions for its recovery could not be executed.
Night set in, and darkness ended the battle.
During all the fight, neither Gates nor Lincoln
appeared on the field. In his report of the action,
Gates named Arnold with Morgan and Dearborn ;
and congress paid a tribute to Arnold's courage by
giving him the rank which he had claimed. The
action was the battle of the husbandmen ; and on
this decisive day, men of the valley of Virginia, of
New York, and of New England, fought together
with one spirit for a common cause. At ten o'clock
in the night, Burgoyne gave orders to retreat; but
as he took with him his wounded, artillery, and
baggage, at daybreak he had only transferred his
camp to the heights above the hospital. Light
dawned, to show to his army the hopelessness of
their position. They were greatly outnumbered,
their cattle starving, their hospitals cumbered with
sick, wounded, and dying ; and their general, whose
courage in battle could not be exceeded, wanted
strength of judgment.
All .persons sorrowed over Fraser, so much love
had he inspired. He questioned the surgeon eagerly
as to his wound, and when he found that he must
go from wife and children, that fame and promotion
and life were gliding from before his eyes, he cried
out in his agony : " Damned ambition ! " At sunset
of the eighth, as his body, attended by the officers
i
THE CAPITULATION OF BURGOYNE. 419
of his family, was borne by soldiers of his corps to chap.
the great redoubt above the Hudson, where he had
asked to be buried, the three major-generals, Bur-
goyne, Phillips, and Riedesel, and none beside, joined
the train ; and amidst the ceaseless booming of the
American artillery, the order for the burial of the
dead was strictly observed in the twilight over his
grave. Never more shall he chase the red deer
through the heather of Strath Errick, or guide the
skiff across the fathomless lake of central Scotland,
or muse over the ruin of the Stuarts on the moor
of Drum-mossie, or dream of glory beside the crys-
tal waters of the Ness. Death in itself is not ter-
rible ; but he came to America for selfish advance-
ment, and though bravely true as a soldier, he died
miconsoled.
In the following night, Burgoyne, abandoning the
wounded and sick in his hospital, continued his re-
treat; but as he was still clogged with his artillery
and baggage, the night being dark, the narrow road
worsened by rain, they made halt two miles short
of Saratoga. In the night before the tenth, the
British army, finding the passage of the Hudson
too strongly guarded by the Americans, forded the
Fishkill, and in a very bad position at Saratoga
made their last encampment. On the tenth, Bur-
goyne sent out a party to reconnoitre the road on
the west of the Hudson ; but Stark, who after the
battle of Bennington had been received at home
as a conqueror, had returned with more than two
thousand men of New Hampshire, and held the
river at Fort Edward.
At daybreak of the eleventh, an American brig-
420 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, ade, favored by a thick fog, broke up the British
posts at the mouth of the Fishkill, and captured all
their boats and all their provisions, except a short
allowance for five days. On the twelfth the British
army was completely invested, nor was there a
spot in their camp which was not exposed to can-
non or rifle shot. On the thirteenth, Burgoyne,
for the first time, called the commanders of corps
to council ; and they were unanimous for treating on
honorable terms. Had Gates been firm, they would
have surrendered as prisoners of war. Burgoyne's
counter proposals stipulated for a passage for the
army from the port of Boston to Great Britain, upon
condition of not serving again in North America
during the war. Frightened by the expedition of
Vaughan, Gates consented to the modification, and
on the seventeenth the convention was signed. A
bodv of Americans marched to the tune of Yankee
Doodle into the lines of the British, while they
marched out and laid down their arms with none
of the American soldiery to witness the spectacle.
Bread was then served to them, for they had none
left, nor flour.
Their number, including officers, was five thou-
sand seven hundred and ninety-one ; there were be-
sides eighteen hundred and fifty- six prisoners of
war, including the sick and wounded, abandoned to
the Americans. Of deserters there were three hun-
dred ; so that, including the killed, prisoners, and
disabled at Hubbard ton. Fort Ann, Bennington,
Orisca, the outposts of Ticonderoga, and round
Saratoga, the total loss of the British in this north-
em campaign was not far from ten thousand, count-
THE CAPITULATION OF BURGOYNE. 421
insr officers as well as rank and file. The Ameri- chap.
o XXIV.
cans acquired forty- two pieces of the best brass
ordnance then known, beside large munitions of
war, and more than forty-six hundred muskets.
The cause of the great result was the courage
and the determined love of freedom of the Ameri-
can people. So many of the rank and file were
freeholders or freeholders' sons, that they gave a
character to the whole army. The negroes, of
whom there were many in every regiment, served
in the same companies with them, shared their mess,
and partook of their spirit. In the want of a com-
mander of superior abilitj^, next to the generous
care of Washington in detaching for the support
of that quarter troops destined against Howe, vic-
tory was due to the enthusiasm of the soldiers.
When the generals who should have directed them
remained in camp, their common zeal created a
harmonious correspondence of movement, and baffled
the high officers and veterans opposed to them.
The public interests imperatively demanded that
Gates should send the best part of his continental
troops as swiftly as possible to support the contest
against Howe. That he understood this to be his
duty appears from the letter to Washington in
which he had excused his refusal to return the
corps of Morgan by holding out the fairest prospect
of beino^ able to send laro-er reenforcements. His
conduct now will test his character as a general
and a patriot.
VOL. IX. 36
CHAPTEK XXV.
THE CONTEST FOR THE DELAWARE RIVER.
September — November, 1777.
CHAP. Some of the Pennsylvaniaiis would have had
s^^.^^ Washington shut himself up in Philadelphia. Ex-
^UT* ^^P^ that it was the city in which congress had
declared American independence, its possession was
of no importance, for above it the rivers were not
navigable, and it did not intercept the communica-
tion between the north and the south. The ap-
proach to it by water was still obstructed by a
double set of machines called chevaux-de-frise, ex-
tending across the channel of the Delaware : one,
seven miles from Philadelphia, just below the mouth
of the Schuylkill, and protected by Fort Mercer at
Red -bank on the New Jersey shore and Fort
Mifflin on Mud island ; the other, five miles still
nearer the bay, and overlooked by works at Bil-
lingsport.
At Philadelphia the river was commanded by an
American flotilla composed of one frigate, smaller
vessels, galleys, floating batteries, and other craft. On
THE CONTEST FOR THE DELAWARE RIVER. 423
the twenty- seventh of September they approached chap.
the city to annoy the working parties; on the ebb
of the tide the frigate grounded, and its comman-
der, fearing a fire from land, hastily surrendered.
This disaster enabled the British to open commu-
nication with the Jersey shore. On the second of Oct
October a detachment was put across the Delaware
from Chester by the boats of one of their frigates;
the garrison at Billingsport, spiking their guns,
fled, leaving the lower line of obstructions to be
removed without molestation. Faint - heartedness
spread along the river ; the militia who were to
have defended Red-bank disappeared, those of New
Jersey held back ; from the water-craft and even
from the forts there were frequent desertions both
of officers and privates. Washington must act,
or despondency will prevail.
The village of Germantown formed for two miles
one continuous street. At its centre it was crossed
at right angles by Howe's encampment, which ex-
tended on the right to a wood, and was guarded
on its extreme left by Hessian yagers at the
Schujdkill. The first battalion of light inflintry
and the Queen's American rangers were advanced
in front of the right wing ; the second battalion
supported the furthest pickets of the left at Mount
Airy, about two miles from the camp ; and at the
head of the village, in an open field near a large
stone house known as that of Chew, the fortieth
regiment under the veteran Musgrave pitched its
tents. Information of the intended attack reached
Howe, but he received it with incredulity.
About noon on the third, Washington, at Matu-
424 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
c^^- chen Hills, announced to his army his purpose
"'^v — ' to move upon Germantown. He spoke to them
Q^^ ' of the successes of the northern army, and ex-
plained "that Howe, who lay at a distance of
several miles from Cornwall is, had further weak-
ened himself by sending two battalions to Billings*
port. If they w^ould be brave and patient, he
might on the next day lead them to victory."
Thus he inspired them with his own hopeful cour
age. A defeat of the insulated British army must
have been /its ruin. His plan was to direct the chief
attack upon its right, to which the approach was
easy; and for that purpose, to Greene, in whom
of all his generals he most confided, he gave the
command of his left wing, composed of the divis-
ions of Greene and of Stephen and flanked by
Macdougall's brigade. These formed about two
thirds of all his effective force.^ The divisions of
Sullivan and Wayne, flanked by Conway's brigade
- and followed by Washington, with the brigades of
Nash and Maxwell, under Lord Stirling, as the re-
serve, assumed the more difficult task of engaging
the British lefl. To distract attention, the Mary-
land and New Jersey militia were to make a cir-
cuit and come upon the rear of the British right,
while on the opposite side Armstrong, with the
Pennsylvania militia, w^as to deal heavy blows on
the Hessian yagers.
The different columns received orders to con-
duct their march of about fourteen miles so as
to arrive near the enemy in time to rest, and to
1 " Two thirds of the army at least." Sullivan to Weare. " Two thirds.**
Wavne to his wife.
THE CONTEST FOR THE DELAWARE RIVER. 425
begin the attack on all quarters at daybreak. Ac- chap.
cordingly, the right wing, after marching all night, ^ — ^ — '
halted two miles in front of the British outpost, ^'[^J^*
and took refreshment. Then, screened by a fog
and marching in silence, the advance party sur-
prised the British picket. The battalion of light
infantry offered a gallant resistance ; but when
Wayne's men, whom Sullivan's division closely fol-
lowed, rushed on with the . terrible cry : " Have
at the blood - hounds ! Kevenge ! revenge!" the
bugle sounded a retreat. The cannon woke Corn-
wallis in Philadelphia, who instantly ordered his
British grenadiers and Hessians to the scene of
action ; Howe, in like manner startled from his
bed, rode up just in time to see the battalion run-
ning away. "For shame, light infantry!" he cried
in anger ; " I never^ saw you retreat before. Form !
form ! it is only a scouting party." But the cut-
ting grape-shot from three of the American cannon
rattling about him showed the seriousness of the
attack, and he rode off at full speed to prepare
his camp for battle ; while Musgrave, detaching a
part of his regiment to support the fugitives, threw
himself with six companies into Chew's house, and
barricaded its lower windows and doors.
Greene should by this time have engaged the
British right ; but nothing was heard from any part
of his wing. In consequence, as the divisions of
Sullivan and Wayne approached Chew's house to-
gether, Sullivan directed Wayne to pass to the left
of it, while he advanced on its right. In this
manner they were separated. The advance was
slow, for it was made, not in column, but in line,
36*
426 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, while the troops kept up an incessant fire at every
house and hedge where the pursuit was checked.
Washington, with Maxwell's part of the reserve,
summoned Musgrave to surrender; but the offi-
cer who carried the white flag was fired upon
and killed ; the brave Chevalier Duplessis Maaduit,
who, with John Laurens of South Carolina, forced
and mounted the window on the ground-floor to set
the house on fire, was not supported by men with
combustibles, and, incredible as it may seem, the
two gallant and adventurous youths retired slowly
and safely under a fire from both stories of the
house. The cannon was too light to breach the
walls. Driven forward by his own anxiety^ and
the zeal of the young officers of his staflf,^ Wash-
ington left a single regiment to watch the house,^
and with the rest of the reserve advanced to the
front of the battle and remained there to the
last.-*
And where was Greene ? From some cause *
which he never explained, he reached the British
outpost three quarters of an hour later than the
troops with Washington ; then, at a very great
distance from the force which he was to have
attacked, he formed his whole wing, and thus in
line of battle attempted to advance two miles or
more through marshes, thickets, and strong and
1 Sullivan to Weare. 12 October, 1777. "Mistook their
2 Lee's Memoirs. way." General Lacy. " Owin<r to
3 Marshall, i. 68. the orreat distance." Macdoujiall,
4 Sullivan to Weare. 5 October, 177?. " Delayed much
5 '• From some mismanagement." by General Greene's being obliged
Heth to Lamb, 12 October, 1777. to countermarch one of his divis-
" On account of the darkness of ions." Sullivan to Mesheth Weare,
the night and the badness of some 25 October, 17 77. Greene's letter
roads," Walter Stewart to Gates, to Marchant gives no explanation.
I
THE CONTEST FOR THE DELAWARE RIVER. 427
numerous post -and -rail fences. Irretrievable dis- crap.
XXV.
order was the consequence ; the divisions became
mixed, and the line was broken. MacdougalP
never got into the fight ; and Greene was left
with only the brigades of Scott and Muhlenberg.
These entered the village and attacked the British
right, which had had ample time for preparation.
They were outflanked, and afler about fifteen min-
utes^ of heavy firing were driven back; and the
regiment which had penetrated furthest was cap-
tured. Stephen with one of his brigades came up
with the left of Wayne's division; Woodford, who
commanded the other and was on the extreme
right of the wing under Greene, strayed to Chew's
house, which he found watched by a single regi-
ment, halted there with his whole brigade, and
took no part in the battle^ except to order his
light field-pieces to play upon its w^alls. This new
and unexpected cannonade was exactly in the rear
of Wayne's division ; they imagined it to be the
fire of the British right ; and throwing off all con-
trol, they retreated in disorder. Armstrong with
his militia on the extreme right considered it his
duty " rather to divert the foreigners * than to
come in contact with them ; " ^ so he did no more
than "cannonade them from the heights on the
Wissahiccon." ^ Sullivan's men, with the eagerness
of young troops and against the order of Washing-
ton, had expended their ammunition ^ often without
1 Walter Stewart to Gates, 12 * Armstrong tb Gates, 9 October,
October, 1777. 1777.
2 Sullivan to Weare. * General Lacy's account.
3 Marshall, an eye-witness. Life ^ Armstrong to Wharton, 5 Octo-
of Washington, i. 167. ber, 1777.
7 Idem.
428 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, an object. The battalions from Philadelphia, ad-
• — Y — ' vancing on a run, were close at hand. In the
Oct. * ^^o' parties of Americans had repeatedly mistalcen
each other for British. At about half- past eight,
Washington, who, " in his anxiety exposed himself
to the hottest fire," seeing that the day w^as lost,
gave the word to retreat, and sent it to every di-
vision. Care was taken for the removal of every
piece of artillery. " British officers of the first
rank said that no retreat w^as ever conducted in
better order," ^ and they and the German officers
alike judged the attack to have been well planned.
Greene on that day "fell under the frown" of
the commander-in-chief Had the forces intrusted
to him and the militia with Armstrong acted as
efficiently as the troops with Washington, the day
might have been fatal to Howe's army. The re-
newal of an attack so soon after the defeat at the
Brandy wine, and its partial success, inspirited con-
gress and the army. In Europe, it convinced the
cabinet of the king of France that the indepen-
dence of America was assured.
To stop the sale of provisions to the British
army, congress subjected every person, w^ithin thirty
miles of a British post, who should give them in-
formation or furnish them supplies, to the penalty
of death on conviction by courtrmartial ; and a party
of militia under Potter watched the west of the
Schuylkill so carefully that the enemy suffered
from a scarcity of food and forage. Could Wash-
ington obtain a force sufficient to blockade Phila-
delphia by land and maintain the posts on the
1 Burke's Correspondence, ii. 204.
THE CONTEST FOR THE DELAWARE RIVER. 429
Delaware, there was hope of driving Howe to re- chap.
treat. But Pennsylvania would not rise ; the con-
test was on her soil, and there were in camp only
twelve hundred of her militia.
Between the fourth and the eighth, the fleet of
Lord Howe anchored between Newcastle and Reedy
island. It was the middle of October before they
could open a narrow and intricate channel through
the lower obstruction in the river. The upper
works were untouched ; and the forts on Red-bank
and on Mud island were garrisoned by continental
troops, the former under the command of Colonel
Christopher Greene of Rhode Island, the latter
under that of Lieutenant -Colonel Samuel Smith
of Maryland. Meantime, Sir William Howe, from
the necessity of concentrating his force, ordered
Clinton to abandon Fort Clinton on the Hudson,
and to send him a reenforcement of " full six
thousand men." ^ He removed his army from Ger-
man town to Philadelphia, and protected it by a
line of fortifications from the Schuylkill to the
Delaware.
On the mominsr of the eio^hteenth, a messeno-er
arrived in camp bringing letters from Putnam and
Clinton prematurely but positively announcing the
surrender of the army of Burgoyne. Washington
received them with joy unspeakable and devout
gratitude " for this signal stroke of Providence."
"All will be well," he said, "in His own good
time." The news circulated among the Americans
in every direction, and quickly penetrated the camp
1 "Full six thousand men." Clin- 1777;. in Albemarle's Rockingham,
ton to General Harvey, 13 October, ii. 337.
430 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, of Sir William Howe. " The difficulty of access to
XX V. .
Fort island had rendered its reduction much more
tedious than was conceived ; " under a feeling of
exasperated impatience, he gave verbal orders to
Colonel Donop, who had expressed a wish for a
separate command, to carry Red-bank by assault if it
could be easily done, and make short work of the
affair. On the twenty-second, Donop with five regi-
ments of Hessian grenadiers and infantry, four com-
panies of yagers, a few mounted yagers, all the
artillery of the five battalions, and two English
howitzers, arrived at the fort. Making at once a
reconnoissance with his artillery officers, he found
that on three sides it could be approached through
thick woods within four hundred yards. It was a
pentagon, with a high earthy rampart, protected in
front by an abatis. The battery of eight three-
pounders and two howitzers was brought up on the
right wing, and directed on the embrasures. At
the front of each of the four battalions selected for
the assault stood a captain with the carpenters
and one hundred men bearing the fascines which
had been hastily bound together. Mad after glorj^,
Donop, at half-past four, summoned the garrison
in arrogant language. A defiance being returned,
he addressed a few words to his troops. Each
colonel placed himself at the head of his division,
and at a quarter before five, under the protection
of a brisk cannonade from all their artillery, they
ran forward and carried the abatis. On clearing
it they were embarrassed by pitfalls, and were ex-
posed to a terrible fire of small arms and of grape-
shot from a concealed gallery, while two galleys,
THE CONTEST FOR THE DELAWARE RIVER. 431
which the bushes had hidden, raked their flanks chap.
■^^ V •
with chain -shot. Yet the brave Hessians formed ^^ — -
1 T 7 7
on the glacis, filled the ditch, and pressed on q^.^'
towards the rampart. But Donop, the officers of
his staff, and more than half the other officers were
killed or w^ounded ; the men who climbed the para-
pet were beaten down with lances and bayonets;
and as twilight w^as coming on, the assailants fell
back under the protection of their reserve. Many
of the wounded crawled aw^ay into the forest, but
Donop and a few others were left behind. The
party marched back during the night unpursued.
As the British ships of war w^hich had attempted
to take part in the attack fell down the river, the
*' Augusta," of sixty-four guns, and the "Merlin" frig-
ate grounded. The next day the "Augusta" was
set on fire by red-hot shot from the American gal-
leys and floating batteries, and blown up before all
her crew could escape ; the " Merlin " was aban-
doned and set on fire. From the wrecks the
Americans brought off two twenty-four pounders.
"Thank God," reasoned John Adams, "the glory
is not immediately due to the commander-in-chief,
or idolatry and adulation w^ould have been so
excessive as to endanger our liberties."
The Hessians, by their own account, lost in the
assault four hundred and two in killed and wounded,
of whom twenty-six were officers. Two colonels
gave up their lives. Donop, whose thigh was shat-
tered, lingered for three days ; and to Mauduit, w^io
watched over his death -bed with tenderness, he
said: "It is finishino^ a noble career earlv; I die
the victim of mv ambition, and of the avarice of
432 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, my sovereign." This was the moment chosen by
-^ — v^' Howe to complain of Lord Georg-e Germain, and
Oct.* to ask the king's leave to resign his command;
and he added that there was no prospect of ter-
minating the war without another campaign, nor
then, unless large reenforcements, such as he knew
could not be furnished, should be sent from Eu-
rope.
On Burgoyne's surrender, it became the para-
mount duty of Gates to detach reenforcements to
Washington ; but weeks passed and even the corps
of Morgan did not arrive. The commander-in-chief,
therefore, near the end of October, despatched his
Nov. able aid, Alexander Hamilton, with authority to
demand them. This was followed by the strangest
incidents of the war. Putnam for a while disre-
garded the orders borne by Hamilton. Gates, in
his elation, detained a very large part of his array
in idleness at Albany, under the pretext of an
expedition against Ticonderoga, which he did not
mean to attack, and w^iich the British of them-
selves abandoned ; he neglected to announce his
victorv to the commander-in-chief; and he sent
directly to congress the tardy message: "With an
army in health, vigor, and spirits. Major - General
Gates now waits the commands of the honorable
congress." Instead of chiding the insubordination,
congress appointed him to regain the forts and
passes on the Hudson river. Now Washington had .
himself recovered these forts and passes by press-
ing Howe so closely as to compel him to order
their evacuation ; yet congress forbade Washing-
ton to detach from the northern army more than
THE CONTEST FOR THE DELAWARE RIVER. 433
twenty-five hundred men, including the corps of
Morgan, without first consulting General Gates and
the governor of New York. It was even moved
that lie should not detach any troops except after
consultation with Gates and Clinton ; and Samuel
Adams, John Adams, and Gerry of Massachusetts,
and Marchant of Rhode Island voted for that re-
striction. Time was wasted by this interference
on the part of congress. Besides ; while the north-
ern army had been borne onward to victory by
the rising of the people, Washington encountered
other difficulties from the disaffection of a great
part of the inhabitants of Pennsylvania, the languor
of others, and the internal feuds and distraction of
the whole. So the opportunity of driving Howe
from Pliiladelphia before winter was lost.
By the tenth of November the British had com-
pleted their batteries on the reedy morass of Prov-
ince island, five hundred yards from the Amer-
ican fort on Mud island, and began an incessant
fire from four batteries of heavy artillery. Smith
gave the opinion that the garrison could not repel
a storming party ; but Major Fleury, the resolute
French engineer, reported the place still defensible.
On the eleventh, Smith, having; received a slitrht
hurt, passed immediately to Red -bank; the next
in rank desired to be recalled ; and early on the
thirteenth the brave little garrison of two hundred
and eighty -six fresh men and twenty artillerists
was confided to Major Simeon Thayer of Rhode
Island, who had distinguished himself in the expe-
dition against Quebec, and who now volunteered
VOL. IX. 87
CHAP.
XXV.
434 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, to take the desperate command.^ Supported by
his superior abihty and the skill and cool courage
of Fleury, the garrison held out gallantly during
an incessant bombardment and cannonade. On the
fifteenth, the wind proving fair, the "Vigilant," carry-
ing sixteen twenty-four pounders, and the hulk of
a large Indiaman with three twenty-four pounders,
aided by the tide, were warped through an inner
channel which the obstructions in the river had
deepened, and anchored so near ^ the American fort
that they could send into it hand-grenades, and
marksmen from the masts of the "Vigilant" could
pick off men from its platform. Five large Brit-
ish ships of war, which drew near the chevaux-
de-frise, kept off the American flotilla, and some-
times directed their fire at the fort on its unpro-
tected side. The land batteries, now five in number,
played from thirty pieces at short distances. The
ramparts and block -houses on Mud island were
honey - combed, their cannon nearly silenced. A
storming party was got ready; but to avoid blood-
shed. Sir William Howe, who on the fifteenth was
present with his brother, gave orders to keep up the
fire all night through. In the evening, Thayer sent
all the garrison but forty men over to Red-bank,
and after midnight followed with the rest. When,
on the sixteenth, the British troops entered the fort,
they found nearly every one of its cannon stained
^ The authorities of weijyht are: letter of 17 February, 1778, in Cow-
Fleury's journal in Marshall, and ell's Spirit of 177(} in Rhode Island,
in Sparks, v. 154, from the Wash- 2.96. The account in Mai*shall, i.
ington [)apers ; Yarn uni to Washing- 178. is very complete,
ton, 15 and 16 November, 1777, and 2 Varnum : "one hundred yards;"
Varnum to Wheeler, 2 August, Munchhausen ; " two."
1786; aud Colonel Israel Augeli's
THE CONTEST FOR THE DELAWARE RIVER. 435
with blood. Never were orders to defend a place chap.
XXV'.
to the last extremity more faithfully executed.
Thayer was reported to Washington as an officer
of the highest merit ; Fleury won promotion from
congress for his disinterested gallantry.
Cornwallis was next sent by way of Chester to
Billingsport, with a strong body of troops to clear
the left bank of the Dehuvare. A division under
Greene was promptly despatched across the river
to give him battle. But Cornwallis was joined by
five British battalions from New York, while the
American reenforcements from the northern army
were still delayed. It therefore became necessary
to evacuate Red-bank. Cornwallis, having levelled
its ramparts, returned to Philadelphia, and Greene
rejoined Washington ; but not till Lafayette, who
attended the expedition as a volunteer, had secured
the applause of congress by routing a party of
Hessians. For all the seeming success, many offi-
cers in the British camp expressed the opinion that
the states could not be subjugated, and should be
suffered to go free.
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE CONFEDERATION.
November 15, 1777.
CHAP. While the winter- quarters of the British in
XXVI. . .
Philadelphia were rendered secure by the posses-
sion of the river Delaware, the congress which
was scoffed at in the British house of lords as a
"vagrant" horde resumed at Yorktown the work
of confederation. Of the committee who, in June,
1776, had been appointed to prepare the plan,
Samuel Adams alone remained a member ; and even
he was absent when, on the fifteenth of Novem-
ber, 1777, "articles of confederation and perpetual
union" were adopted, to be submitted for appro-
bation to the several states.
The present is always the lineal descendant of
the past. A new form of political life never ap-
pears but as a growth out of its antecedents, just
as in nature there is no animal life without a seed
or a spore. In civil affa^irs, as much as in hus-
bandry, seed-time goes before the harvest, and the
harvest may be seen in the seed, the seed in
THE CONFEDERATION. 437
the harvest According to the American theory, $"^,^-
the unity of the colonies had, before the declara-
tion of independence, resided in the British king.
The congress of the United States was the king's
successor, and it inhetited only such powers as
the colonies themselves acknowledged to have be-
lon<i:ed to the crown.
The vastness of America interfered with the in-
stincts of local attachment. Affection could not
twine itself round a continental domain of which
the greatest part was a wilderness, associated with
no recollections. The sentiment of unity existed
only in the germ. Gadsden of South Carolina
had advised all to be, not Carolinians or New
Yorkers, but Americans; yet "my country," in
the mouth of Washington, in the early part of
1776, meant Virginia only ; and though with the
declaration of independence he learned to embrace
all the states in that name, the narrower usage was
still kept up by Patrick Henry. The confederacy
was formed under the influence of political ideas
which had been developed by a contest of centu-
ries for individual and local liberties as^ainst an
irresponsible central authority. Now that power
passed to the people, new institutions were re-
quired strong enough to protect the state, while
they should leave untouched the liberties of the
individual. But America, misled by what belonged
to the past, took for her organizing principle the
principle of resistance to power, which in all the
thirteen colonies had been hardened into stubborn-
ness by a succession of common jealousies and
struggles.
37*
438 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. During the sixteen months that followed the in-
' — Y — ' troduction of the plan for confederation prepared
Nov.* by Dickinson, the spirit of separation, fostered by
uncontrolled indulgence, by opposing interests, by
fears on the part of the south of the more ho-
mogeneous and compact population of the north-
east, by the dissimilar impulses under which the
different sections of the country had been colo-
nized, and by a dread of interference with the pe-
culiar institutions of- each colony, visibly increased
in congress, and every change in his draught, which
of itself proposed only a league of states, darkened
more and more the prospect of that energetic au-
thority which is the first guaranty of liberty.
The possessions of the British crown had ex-
tended from the Saint Mary's to the extreme north
of the habitable continent, from the Atlantic to the
Mississippi or even to the Pacific; the United States
of America included within their jurisdiction so
much of that territory as had belonged to any
of the thirteen colonies; and if Canada would so
choose, they were ready to annex Canada.
In the republics of Greece, citizenship had in
theory been confined to a body of kindred fami-
lies, which formed an hereditary caste, a multitudi-
nous aristocracy. Such a system could have no
permanent vitality; and the Greek republics, as the
Italian republics in after-ages, died out for want
of citizens. America adopted at once the great-
est result of modern civilization, the principle of
the all-embracing unity of society. As the Amer-
ican territory was that of the old thirteen colo-
nies, so the free people residing upon it formed
in
THE CONFEDERATION. 439
the free people of the United States. Subject chap.
and citizen were correlative terms, and subjects of
the monarchy became citizens of the republic. He
that had owed primary allegiance to the king of
England, now owed primary allegiance to united
America ; yet, as the republic was the sudden birth
of a revolution, the moderation of congress did not
name it treason for the former subjects of the king
to adhere to his government; only, it was held,
that whoever chose to remain on the soil, by resi-
dence accepted the protection of America, and in
return owed it allegiance. This is the reason why,
for twelve years, free inhabitants and citizens were
in American state -papers convertible terms, some-
times used one for the other, and sometimes, for the
sake of perspicuity, redundantly joined together.
The kino; of Eno-land, according* to the rule of
modern civilization, claimed as his subjects all per-
sons born within his dominions : in like manner
every one who first saw the light on the American
soil was a natural-born citizen ; but the power of
naturalization, which, under the king, each colony
had claimed to regulate by its own laws, remained
under the confederacy with the separate states.
The king had extended protection to every one
of his lieges in any one of the thirteen colonies ;
now that congress was the successor of the king
in America, the right to equal protection was con-
tinued to every free inhabitant in whatever state
he might sojourn or dwell.
It had been held under the monarchy that each
American colony was as independent of England
as the electorate of Hanover ; now, therefore, in
440 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, the confederacy of *^ the United States of America/*
each state was to remain an independent sovereign,
and the union was to be no more than an alliance.
This theory decided the manner in which congress
should vote. Pennsylvania and Virginia asked, that,
while each state might have at least one delegate,
the rule should be one for every fifty thousand in-
habitants ; but the amendment was rejected by nine
states against two, Delaware being absent and North
Carolina divided. Virginia would have allowed one
member of congress to each state for every thirty
thousand of its inhabitants, and in thi-s she was sup-
ported by John Adams ; but his colleagues cast the
vote of Massachusetts against it, and Virginia was
left alone. North Carolina as before losing its vote
by being equally divided. Virginia next desired
that the representation for each state should be in
proportion to its contribution to the public treasury ;
here again she was supported by John Adams, but
was opposed by every other state, including North
Carolina and Massachusetts. At last, with only one
state divided and no negative voice but that of
Virginia, an equal vote in congress was acknowl-
edged to belong to each sovereign state, though the
number of delegates to give that vote might be
not less than two nor more than seven for each
state. The remedy for this inequality enhanced the
evil and foreboded anarchy : while each state had
one vote, " great and very interesting questions "
could be carried only by the concurrence of nine
states. If the advice of Samuel Adams had been
listened to, the vote of nine states would not have
prevailed, unless they represented a majority of the
~
THE CONFEDERATION. 441
people of all the states. For the transaction of less chap.
important business, an affirmative vote of seven ^^-r-^
states was required. In other words, in the one ^^y'
case the assent of two thirds, in the other of a
majority of all the thirteen states, was needed, the
absence of any state having the force of a nega-
tive vote.
Principles of policy which in their origin may
have been beneficent, when wTongly applied be-
come a curse. The king's power to levy taxes by
parliament or by his prerogative had been denied,
and no more than a power to make requisitions
conceded : in like manner the oreneral cono-ress, as
successor to the king, could not levy taxes, but
only make requisitions for money on the several
states. The king might establish post-offices for
public convenience, not for revenue : in like manner
congress might authorize no rates of postage except
to defray the expense of transporting the mails. The
colonies under the king had severally levied import
and export duties; the same power was allowed
still to reside in each separate state, limited only
by the proposed treaties with France and Spain.
Thus the new republic was left without any
independent revenue, and the charges of the gov-
ernment, its issues of paper money, its loans, were
to be ultimately defrayed by quotas assessed upon
the separate states. The difference between the
north and the south growing out of the institu-
tion of slavery decided the rule for the distribu-
tion of these quotas. By the draught of Dickinson,
taxation was to be in prop(»rtion to the census of
population, in which slaves were to be enumerated.
442 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE,
CHAP. On the thirteenth of October, 1777, it was moved
that the sum to be paid by each state into the
treasury should be ascertained by the value of all
property within each state. This was promptly
negatived, and was followed by a motion having
for its object to exempt slaves from taxation alto-
gether. On the following day, eleven states were
present. The four of New England voted in the
negative ; Maryland, Virginia, and the two Carolinas
in the affirmative. The decision remained with
the central states. Robert Morris of Pennsylvania
against Roberdeau, and Duer of New York against
Duane, voted with the south, and so the votes of
their states were divided and lost. The decision
rested on New Jersey, and she gave it for the
complete exemption from taxation of all property
in slaves. This is the first important division be-
tween the slaveholding states and the states where
slavery was of little account. The rule for appor-
tioning the revenue as finally adopted, was the re-
spective value of land granted or surveyed, and the
buildings and improvements thereon, without regard
to personal property or numbers. This alone ren-
dered the confederacy nugatory; for congress had
not power to make the valuation.
In like manner the rules for navigation were to
be established exclusively by each separate state,
and the confederation did not take to itself power
to countervail the restrictions of foreign govern-
ments, or to form agreements of reciprocity, or
even to establish uniformity. These arrangements
suited the opinions of the time ; the legislature
of New Jersey, vexed by the control of New York
I
THE CONFEDERATION. 443
over the waters of New York bay, alone proposed chap.
as an amendment a grant of greater power over
foreign commerce. Moreover, each state decided
for itself what imports it would permit, and what
it would prohibit; so that the confederate congress
for itself renounced forever the power to sanction
or to stop the slave-trade.
The king had possessed all the lands not alien-
ated by royal grants. On the declaration of inde-
pendence, the quit -rents were sequestered to the
benefit of the proprietors, while each state assumed
the ownership of the royal domain within its limits.
A question was raised as to public lands which
might be acquired or recovered by the war, espe-
cially the country northwest of the Ohio, which
had been transferred to the province of Quebec
by act of parliament ; but that act formed one of
the grievances of America ; its validity was denied ;
and the states which by their charters extended in-
definitely west, or west and northwest, refused to
accept the United States as the umpire to settle
their boundaries, except with regard to "each other.
Jealousy of a standing army was one of the
traditionary lessons of English liberty. The supe-
riority of the civil over the military power was
most deeply imprinted on the heart of the people.
It was borne in mind, that victorious legions revo-
lutionized Rome ; that Charles the First sought to
overturn the institutions of England by an army;
that by an army Charles the Second was brought
back without conditions; that by a standing army,
which Americans themselves were to have been
taxed to maintain, it had been proposed to abridge
444 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. _^
1
^HAP- American liberties. In congress this distrust of
* — V — military power existed all the more for the confi-
jjq^ * dence and undivided affection which the people
bore to the American commander-in-chief, and has
for its excuse, that the ages perhaps never fur-
nished an example, that human nature was hardly
supposed able to furnish an example, of a military
hero eminent as a statesman, the liberator of his
country, and yet desirous after finishing his work
to go into private life. We have seen how ear-
nestly Washington endeavored to establish an army
of the United States. His plan, which at the time
it was proposed congress did not venture to re-
ject, w^as now deliberately demolished. Congress
thought it augured well for liberty that the states
were stretched along the Atlantic shore in a nar-
row line, ill suited to unity of military action; and
to prevent a homogeneous organization, it not only
left to each of them the exclusive power over its
militia, but the exclusive appointment of the regi-
mental officers in its quota of land forces for
the public service ; so that there might be thirteen
armies, rather than one.
As in England, so in America, this jealousy did
not extend to maritime affairs; the separate states
had no share in the appointment of officers in the
navy, and the United States might even establish
courts of admiralty, though with a jurisdiction lim-
ited to piracies and felonies on the high seas and
to appeals in all cases of capture.
As the king in England, so the United States
determined on peace and war, sent ambassadors to
foreign powers, and entered into treaties and alii-
THE CONFEDERATION. 445
ances; but beside their preneral want of executive chap.
, , . r. XXVI.
power, the grant to make treaties oi commerce
was nulhfied by the power reserved to the states
over imports and exports, over shipping and rev-
enue.
The right of coining money, the right of keeping
up ships of war, land forces, forts, garrisons, were
shared by congress with the respective states.
No state, Massachusetts not more than South Caro-
lina, would subordinate its law of treason to the
will of congress. The formation of a class of na-
tional statesmen was impeded by the clause which
forbade any man to sit in congress more than three
years out of six; nor could the same member of
congress be appointed its president more than one
year in any. term of three years. As there was
scarcely the rudiment of a judiciary, so direct ex-
ecutive power was altogether wanting. The report
of Dickinson provided for a council of state ; but
this was narrowed down to "a committee of
states" to be composed of one delegate from each
state, which could be invested with no power what-
ever respecting important business, and no power
of any kind except that with which congress, " by
the consent of nine states," might invest them
from time to time.
Each state retained its sovereignty, and all power
not expressly delegated. Under the king of Eng-
land, the use of the veto in colonial legislation had
been complained of There was not even a thought
of vestino" cono^ress with a veto on the leo-islation
DO O
of states, or subjecting such legislation to the re-
vision of a judicial tribunal. Each state, being
VOL. IX 38
446 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, esteemed independent and sovereign, had exclusive,
^ full, and final powers in every matter relating to
domestic police and government, to slavery and
manumission, to the conditions of the elective fran-
chise; and the restraints required by loyalty to the
central government were left to be self-imposed
Incidental powers to carry into effect the powers
granted to the United States were denied, and thus
granted powers might be made of no avail.
To complete the security against central author-
ity, the articles of confederation were not to be
adopted except by the unanimous assent of each
one of the legislatures of the thirteen separate
states; and no amendment might be made without
an equal unanimity. A government which had not
power to levy a tax, or raise a soldier, or deal
directly with an individual, or keep its engage-
ments with foreign powers, or amend its constitu-
tion without the unanimous consent of its mem-
bers, had not enough of vital force to live. It
could not interest the human race, and the estab-
lishment of independence must be the signal for
its dissolution. But a higher spirit moved over the
darkness of that formless void. That which then
flowered, bore the seed of that which was to be.
Notwithstanding the defects of the confederation,
the congress of the United States, inspired by the
highest wisdom of the eighteenth century, and
seemingly without debate, embodied in their work
four capital results, which Providence in its love for
the human race could not let die.
The republics of Greece and Rome had been
essentially no more than governments of cities.
THE CONFEDERATION. 447
When Rome excliano;ed the narrowness of the an- chap.
. . XXVI.
cient municipality for cosmopolitan expansion, the
republic, from the false principle on which it was
organized, became an empire. The middle ages
had free towns and cantons, but no national re-
public. Congress had faith that one republican
government could comprehend a continental terri-
tory, even though it should extend from the Gulf
of Mexico to the uttermost limit of Canada, and in-
clude Newfoundland.
Having thus proclaimed that republicanism may
equal the widest empire in its bounds, they settled
the relation of the United States to the natural
rights of their inhabitants with superior wisdom.
Some of the states had, each according to its
prevailing superstition or prejudice, narrowed the
rights of classes of men. One state disfranchised
Jews, another Catholics, another deniers of the
Trinity, another men of a complexion different from
white. The United States in congress assembled
suffered the errors against humanity in one state
to eliminate the errors against humanity in another.
They rejected every disfranchisement and super-
added none. The declaration of independence said,
all men are created equal; the articles of confed-
eration and perpetual union made no distinction
of classes, and knew no caste but the caste of
humanity. To them, free inhabitants were free
citizens.
That which gave reality to the union was the
article which secured to " the free inhabitants " of
each of the states "all privileges and immunities
of free citizens in the several states." Congress
448 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
I
CHAP, appeared anxiously to shun the term "people of
the United States;" it is nowhere found in the
articles of confederation, and rarely and only acci-
dentally in their votes ; yet by this act they
constituted the free inhabitants of the different
states one people. When the articles of confeder-
ation reached South Carolina for confirmation, it
was perceived that they secured equal rights of
inter-citizenship in the several states to the free
black inhabitant of any state. This concession was '
opposed in the legislature of South Carolina, and
after an elaborate speech by William Henry Dray-
, ton, the articles were returned to cono-ress with a
t • ....
j recommendation that inter-citizenship should be Cott-
le fined to the white man ; but congress, by a vote of
1 eight states against South Carolina and Georgia,
one state being divided, refused to recede from the
imiversal system on which American institutions
were to be founded. The decision was not due to
the excitement of impassioned philanthropy: slavery
at that day existed in every one of the thirteen
states ; and all over the country, notwithstand-
ing many men south as well as north revolted at
the thought of continuing the institution, custom
scarcely recognised the black man as an equal;
yet congress, with a fixedness of purpose resting
on a principle, would not swerve from its position.
For when it resolved upon independence and had
to decide on whom a demand could be made to
maintain that independence, it defined as members
of a colony all persons abiding within it and deriving
protection from its laws, and charged the guilt of
treason on all members of the united colonies who
THE CONFEDERATION. 449
should adhere to the king of Great Britain. Now, chap.
therefore, when inter-state rights were to be con-
fided to the members of each state, it looked upon
every freeman who owed primary allegiance to the
state as a citizen of the state. The free black in-
habitant owed allegiance, and was entitled to equal
civil rights, and so was a citizen. Universal suf-
frage as the right of man was not as yet asserted
in the constitution of any one of the states. Con-
gress, while it left the regulation of the elective
franchise to the judgment of each state, in the arti-
cles of confederation, in its votes and its treaties
with other powers, reckoned all the free inhabitants,
without distinction of ancestry, creed, or color, as
subjects or citizens. But America, though the best
representative of the social and political gains of
the eighteenth century, was not the parent of the
idea in modern civilization that man is a constitu-
ent member of the state of his birth, irrespective
of his ancestry. It was become the public law of
Christendom. Had America done less, she would
have been, not the leader of nations, but a laggard.
One other lifegiving excellence distinguished the
articles of confederation. The instrument was suf-
fused with the idea of securing the largest liberty
to individual man. In the ancient Greek republic,
the state existed before the individual and absorbed
the individual. Thought, religious opinion, worship,
conscience, amusements, joys, sorrows, all activities,
were regulated by the state ; the individual lived
only as subordinate to the state. A declaration of
rights is a declaration of those liberties of the in-
dividual which the state cannot justly control. The
38*
450 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
XXVI* ^"^^^^ sj'Stem of law knew nothing of such liber-
^ — Y — ' ties ; the Greek citizen never spoke of the rio-hts
17TT« ... .
is^Qy ' of man ; the individual was merged in the body
politic. At last a government founded on consent
could be perfected, for the acknowledgment that
conscience has its rights had broken the unity of
despotic power, and confirmed the freedom of the
individual. Because there was life in all the parts,
there was the sure promise of a well-organized life
in the whole.
Yet the young republic failed in its first effort
at formim? a o-eneral union. The smoke in the
flame overpowered the light. " The articles of
confederation endeavored to reconcile a partial sov-
ereignty in the union with complete sovereignty in
the states, to subvert a mathematical axiom by
taking away a part and letting the whole remain."
The polity then formed could hardly be called an
organization, so little did the parts mutually corre-
spond and concur to the same final actions. The
executive power vested in the independent will of
thirteen separate sovereign states was like many
pairs of ganglia in one of the inferior articulata, of
which part may press to go one way and part another.
Yet through this chaotic mass the rudiment of a
spinal cord may be traced. The system was imper-
fect, and was acknowledged to be imperfect. A
better one could not then have been accepted ; but
with all its faults it contained the elements for
the evolution of a more perfect union. America
in her progress carried along with her the urn
which held the ashes of the dead past, but she
also had hope and creative power. The sentiment
THE CONFEDERATION. 451
of nationality was formino;. The framers of the chap.
. . . XXVI.
confederacy would not admit into that instrument
the name of the people of the United States, and
described the states as so many sovereign and in-
dependent communities ; yet already in the circu-
lar letter of November, 1777, to the states, asking
their several subscriptions to the plan of confederacy,
they avowed the purpose to secure to the inhab-
itants of all the states an " existence as a free
people." The child that was then born was cra-
dled between opposing powers of evil ; if it will
live, its infant strength must strangle the twin
serpents of separatism and central despotism.
(
CHAPTER XXVII.
November, 177r-APR„, 177a
XXV n, VVhen at last WA«^;r.r>.f
Y;^ fron. the northeIt™f °: T ^^'^^ ''^ t-ps
Nov. capture of PhiJadeInf,;, t> . '^''°^^ ^oi" the
^i" and the Ddawte . f ''*^ ^^ ^^« Schuyl-
fourteen redoub s te'de 7 "'' ^ ^'^^'^ ^'
having been reenforced'^frot ^ew yIT T^P"'''
than three thousand mpn * ^y ^'°re
thousand. Yet four A ' "'"^ '^•^'^^'^^'^ nineteen
^"Perior force; but the get JT/' f'u ^"^"^
disregarded the inurmurT^r '"'*^"^e<^ ^y eleven,
"the mad enterprise™ '°"^''"''' '^"'^ rejected
Ashamed of iz.action, Sir William Pn
to his government his in t I announced
movement. Washington lu" *° """^'^ * ^^'ard
WINTER-QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. 453
veyor, selected in the woods of Whitemarsh stronpj chap.
. . XXVII.
ground for an encampment, and there, within four-
teen miles of Philadelphia, awaited the enemy, of
whose movements he received exact and timely
intelliiz:ence. On the severely cold nio-ht of the
fourth of December, the British, fourteen thousand
strong, marched out to attack the American lines.
Before daybreak on the fifth, their advance party
halted on a ridge beyond Chestnut hill, eleven miles
from Philadelphia, and at seven their main body
formed in one line, with a few regiments as re-
serves. The Americans occupied thickly wooded
hills, with a morass and a brook in their front.
Opposite the British left wing a breastwork de-
fended the only point where the brook coadd be
easily forded. About noon, General Irvine, who
led some Pennsylvania militia into a skirmish, was
wounded and taken prisoner, and his party were dis-
persed. At night the British force rested on their
arms, and the hills far and wide blazed with the
innumerable fires of the two armies. Washington
passed the hours in strengthening his position ; and
though from sickness, fatigue, and want of cloth-
ing, he had at most but eleven thousand, accord-
ing to Kalb, who w^as present, but seven thousand
reall}^ effective men, he wished for an engagement;.
Near the end of another day Howe marched back
to Germantown, and on the next, as if intending a
surprise, suddenly returned upon the American left,
which he made preparations to assail. Washing-
ton rode through every brigade, delivering in per-
son his orders on the manner of receiving their
enemy, exhorting to a reliance on the bayonet;
454 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CTiAP. and his words, and still more his example, inspired
them with his own fortitude. All day long, and until
eight in the evening, Howe kept up his recon-
noitring, but found the American position every-
where strong by nature and by art. Nothing oc-
curred during the day but a sharp action on Edge
hill, between light troops under Gist and Morgan's
riflemen and a British party led by General Grey.
The latter lost eighty-nine in killed and wounded ;
the Americans twenty-seven, among them the brave
Major Morris of New Jersey. On the eighth, just af-
ter noon, the British suddenly filed off. and marched
by the shortest road to Philadelphia. Their loss in
the expedition exceeded one hundred. Thus the
campaign closed. Howe had gone out with supe-
rior numbers and the avowed intention of brino-inor
on a battle, and had so respected his adversary that
he would not engage him without some advantage
of ground. Henceforward he passed the winter
behind his intrenchments, making only excursions
for food or forage ; and Washington had no choice
but to seek win,ter-quarters for his suffering soldiers.
Military affairs had thus far been superintended
by congress, through a committee of its own mem-
bers. After some prelude in July, 1777, it was set-
tled in the following October to institute an exec-
utive board of war of five persons not members
of congress.
Conway, a French officer of Irish descent, whom
Greene and others describe as " worthless," had long
been eager for higher rank. In a timely letter to
Richard Henry Lee, a friend to Conway, Washing-
ton wrote : " His merits exist more in his own
WINTER-QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. 455
imagination than in reality ; it is a maxim with chap.
... . XXVII.
him not to want anything which is to be obtained ^^->^
by importunity;" his promotion would be "a real *''"'"''•
act of injustice,*' likely to " incur a train of irreme-
diable evils. To sum up the whole, I have been a
slave to the service ; I have undergone more than
most men are aware of to harmonize so many dis-
cordant parts ; but it will be impossible for me to
be of any further service, if such insuperable diffi-
culties are thrown in my way." These words might
be interpreted as a threat of resignation in the
event of Conway's promotion. Conway breathed
out his discontent to Gates, writing in substance :
" Heaven has been determined to save your coun-
try, or a weak general and bad counsellors would
have ruined it." The correspondents of Gates did
not scruple in their letters to speak of the com-
mander-in-chief with bitterness or contempt. " This
army," wrote Reed, "notwithstanding the efforts of
our amiable chief, has as yet gathered no laurels. I
perfectly agree with that sentiment which leads to
request your assistance." On the sixth of Novem-
ber, Wilkinson, the principal aid of Gates, a bab-
bling and unsteady sycophant praised by his chief
for military genius, was made a brigadier. On the
seventh, Mifflin, leaving his office of quartermaster-
general, of which he had neglected the duties, yet
retaining the rank of major-general, was elected to
the board of war. The injurious words of Conway
having through Wilkinson been reported to Washing-
ton, on the ninth he communicated his knowledge
of them to Conway, and to him alone. Conway,
in an interview, j ustified them, made no apology, and
456 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, after the interview reported his defiance of Wash-
^^^^^ ington to Mifflin. On the tenth, Sullivan, second
17 7 T. in rank in the army, knowing the opinion of his
brother- officers and of his chief, and that on a dis-
cussion at a council of war about appointing an
inspector - general Conway's pretensions met with
no favor, wrote to a member of congress : " No
man can behave better in action than General
Conway ; his regulations in his brigade are much
better than any in the army; his knowledge of
military matters far exceeds any officer we have.
If the office of inspector -general with the rank of
major-general was given him, our army would soon
cut a different figure from what they now do."
On the same day Wayne expressed his purpose
" to follow the line pointed out by the conduct of
Lee, Gates, and Mifflin." On the eleventh, Conway,
foreseeing that Gates was to preside at the board
of war, offered to form for him a plan for the
instruction of the army ; and on the fifteenth, to
advance his intrigue, he tendered his resignation
to congress. On the seventeenth, Lovell of Massa-
chusetts wrote to Gates threatening Washington
'' with the mighty torrent of public clamor and ven-
geance," and subjoined : " How different your con-
duct and your fortime ; this army will be totally
lost unless you come down and collect the virtuous
band who wish to fight under your banner." On
the twenty-first, Wayne, forgetting the disaster that
had attended his own rash confidence, disparaged
Washington as having more than once slighted the
favors of fortune. On the twenty - fourth, congress
received the resignation of Conway, and referred it
WINTER-QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. 457
to the board of war, of which Mifflin at that time chap.
XXVII
was the head. On the twenty-seventh, they filled .^->^
the places in that board, and appointed Gates ^1^*^'
its president. On the same day Lovell wrote to
Gates : " We want you in different places ; we
want you most near German town. Good God,
what a situation we are in ! how different from
what might have been justly expected!" and he
represented Washington as a general who col-
lected astonishing numbers of men to wear out
stockings, shoes, and breeches, and " Fabiused affairs
into a very disagreeable posture." On the twenty-
eighth, congress declared themselves by a unani-
mous resolution in favor of carrying on a winter's
campaign with vigor and success, and sent three
of their members with Washington's concurrence to
direct everv measure which circumstances mio-ht
require. On the same day, MifHin, explaining to
Gates how Conway had braved the commander-in-
chief, volunteered his own opinion that the extract
from Conway's letter was a "collection of just sen-
timents," Gates, on receiving the letter, wrote to
Conway: "You acted with all the dignity of a vir-
tuous soldier." He wished " so very valuable and
polite an officer might remain in the service." To
congress he complained of the betrayal of his cor-
respondence to Washington, with whom he came to
an open rupture. On the thirteenth of December,
congress, following Mifflin's report, appointed Con-
way inspector-general, promoted him to be a major-
general, made his office independent of the com-
mander-in-chief, and referred him to the board of
war for the regulations which he was to introduce.
VOL. IX. 39
458 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. Some of those engaged in the cabal wished to pro-
voke Washington to the resignation which he seemed
to have threatened.
This happened just as Washington by his skill
at Whitemarsh had closed the campaign with
honor. The condition of his troops required repose.
The problem which he must solve was to keep
together through the cold winter an army without
tents, and to confine the British to the environs of
Philadelphia. There was no town which would
serve the purpose. Valley Forge, on the Schuyl-
kill, but twenty- one miles from Philadelphia, ad-
mitted of defence against the artillery of those
days, and had more than one route convenient for
escape into the interior. The ground lay sheltered
between two ridges of hills, and was covered by a
thick forest. From his life in the woods, Washing-
ton could see in the trees a town of log -cabins,
built in regular streets, and affording shelter enough
to save the army from dispersion.
As his men moved towards the spot selected for
their winter resting - place, they had not clothes to
cover their nakedness, nor blankets to lie on, nor
tents to sleep under. For the want of shoes their
marches through frost and snow might be traced
by the blood from their feet, and they were almost
as often without provisions as with them. On the
nineteenth they arrived at Valley Forge, within a
day's march of Howe's army, with no shelter till
they could build houses for themselves. The order
for their erection was received by officers and men
as impossible of execution, and they were still
more astonished at the ease with which, as the
WINTER-QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. 459
work of their Christmas holidays, they changed the ^^^^
forest into huts thatched with boughs in the order
of a reguhir encampment. Washington's unsleeping
vigihince and thorough system for receiving intelli-
gence secured them against surprise ; love of coun-
try and attachment to their general sustained them
under their unparalleled hardships ; with any other
leader the army would have dissolved and vanished.
Yet he was followed to Valley Forge by letters
from congress transmitting the remonstrance of the
council and assembly of Pennsylvania against his ,
going into wnnter-quarters. To this senseless re-
proof Washington on the twenty-third, after laying
deserved blame upon Mifflin for neglect of duty as
quartermaster-general, replied : " For the want of
a two days' supply of provisions, an opportunity
scarcely ever offered of taking an advantage of the
enemy that has not been either totally obstructed
or greatly impeded. Men are confined to hospitals
or in farmers' houses for want of shoes. We have
this day no less than two thousand eight hundred
and ninety-eight men in camp unfit for duty, because
they are barefoot and otherwise naked. Our w4iole
strength in continental troops amounts to no more
than eight thousand two hundred in camp fit for
duty. Since the fourth instant, our numbers fit for
duty from hardships and exposures have decreased
nearly two thousand men. Numbers still are obliged
to sit all night by fires. Gentlemen reprobate the
going into winter-quarters as much as if they thought
the soldiers were made of stocks or stones. I can
assure those gentlemen that it is a much easier and
less distressing thing to draw remonstrances in a
460 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, comfortable room by a good fireside, than to occupy
a cold, bleak hill, and sleep under frost and snow
without clothes or blankets. However, although
they seem to have little feeling for the naked and
distressed soldiers, I feel superabundantly for them,
and from my soul I pity those miseries which it
is neither in my power to relieve or prevent."
While the shivering soldiers were shaping the
logs for their cabins, the clamor of the Pennsyl-
vanians continued ; and the day after Christmas,
Sullivan, who held with both sides, gave his writ-
ten advice to Washington to yield and attack
Howe in Philadelphia, " risking every consequence
in an action." The press was called into activity.
On the last day in the year, an anonymous writer
in the " New Jersey Gazette," at Trenton, supposed
to be Benjamin Rush, began a series of articles un-
der the name of a French officer, to set forth the
unrivalled glory of Gates, who had conquered vet-
erans with militia, pointing out plainly Washing-
ton's successor.
1778. The year 1778 opened gloomily at Valley Forge.
To the touching account of the condition of the
army, congress, which had not provided one maga-
zine for winter, made no response except a promise
to the soldiers of one month's extra pay, and a re-
newal of authority to take the articles necessary
for their comfortable subsistence. Washington w^as
averse to the exercise of military power, not only
from reluctance to give distress, but to avoid in-
creasing the prevalent jealousy and suspicion. Seeing
no movement towards a reform in the administra-
tion, on the fifth of January he renewed his remon-
WDTTER-QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGR 461
strances with respect and firmness : " The letter from chap.
xxvir.
the committee of congress and board of war does
not mention the regulations adopted for removing
the diflficnlties and failures in the commissary line.
I trust they will be vigorous or the army cannot
exist. It will never answer to procure supplies of
clothing or provision by coercive measures. The
small seizures made of the former a few days ago,
when that or to dissolve was the alternative, excited
the greatest uneasiness even among our warmest
friends. Such procedures may give a momentary
relief, but, if repeated, will prove of the most per-
nicious consequence. Besides spreading disaffection,
jealousy, and fear among the people, they never
fail, even in the most veteran troops under the most
rigid and exact discipline, to raise in the soldiery a
disposition to plunder, difficult to suppress, and not
only ruinous to the inhabitants, but, in many in-
stances, to armies themselves. I regret the occasion
that compelled us to the measure the other day,
and shall consider it among the greatest of our
misfortunes if we should be under the necessity of
practising it again." Still congress did no more than
on the tenth and twelfth of January appoint Gates
and Mifflin, with four or five others, to repair to
head-quarters and concert reforms.
While those who wished the general out of the
way urged him to some rash enterprise, or, to feel
the public pulse, sent abroad rumors that he was
about to resign, Benjamin Rush in a letter to Patrick
Henry represented the army of Washington as hav-
ing no general at their head, and went on to say :
" A Gates, a Lee, or a Conway, would in a few weeks
89*
17T8
Jan.
462 * AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, render them an irresistible body of men. Some of
XXVII. ,
the contents of this letter ought to be made public,
in order to awaken, enlighten, and alarm our coun-
try." This communication, to which Rush dared not
sign his name, Patrick Henry in his scorn noticed
only by sending it to Washington. An anonymous
paper of the like stamp, transmitted to the president
of congress, took the same direction.
Meantime, the council and assembly of Pennsylva-
nia renewed to congress their wish that Philadelphia
might be taken and the British driven away. Con-
gress hailed the letter as proof of a rising spirit,
and directed the committee appointed to go to camp
to consult on the subject with the government of
Pennsylvania and with General Washington.
Nor w^as this all. The board of ^^ar was ambi-
tious of the fome of great activity, and also wished
to detach Lafayette, the representative of France,
from the commander-in-chief In concert with Con-
way, but without consulting Washington, they in-
duced congress to sanction a winter expedition
against Canada, under Lafayette, who was not yet
twenty-one years old, with Conway for his second
in command, and with Stark. Assured at York-
towm by Gates that he w^ould have a force of three
thousand men, and that Stark would have already
destroyed the shipping at Saint Johns, Lafayette
repaired to Albany, but not until he obtained from
congress Kalb as his second, and Washington as his
direct superior. There the three major-generals of
the expedition met, and were attended or followed
by twenty French officers. Stark wrote for orders.
The available force for the conquest, counting a
WINTER-QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. 463
ref^iment which Gates detached from the army of chap.
o "^ XXVII.
Washington, did not exceed a thousand. For these < — y-^
there was* no store of provision, nor clothing suited ^'^'^^'
to the climate of Canada, nor means of transporta-
tion. Two years' service in the northern depart-
ment cannot leave to Gates the plea of ignorance ;
his plan showed his utter administrative incapacity ;
it accidentally relieved the country of Conway, who,
writing petulantly to congress, found his resignation,
which he had meant only as a complaint, irrevocably
accepted. Lafayette and Kalb were recalled.
Slights and selfish cabals could w^ound the sensi-
bility but not affect the conduct of Washington.
The strokes of ill-fortune in his campaigns he had
met with equanimity and fortitude; but he sought
the esteem of his fellow-men as his only reward, and
now unjust censure gave him the most exquisite
pain. More was expected from him than was pos-
sible to be performed. Moreover, his detractors took
an unfair advantage, for he was obliged to conceal the
weakness of his army from public view, and thereby ^
submit to calumny. To William Gordon, who was
seeking materials for a history of the war, he wrote
freely : " Neither interested nor ambitious views led
me into the service. I did not solicit the command,
but accepted it after much entreaty, with all that
diffidence which a conscious want of ability and ex-
perience equal to the discharge of so important a
trust must naturally excite in a mind not quite
devoid of thought ; and after I did engage, pursued
the great line of my duty and the object in view,
as far as my judgment could direct, as pointedly
as the needle to the pole." "No person ever heard
464 AMERICA]^ ESTDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, me drop an expression that had a tendency to resig-
> — ^r^' nation. The same principles that led me to embark
m the opposition to the arbitrary claims of Great
Britain operate with additional force at this day ;
nor is it my desire to withdraw my services while
they are considered of importance to the present
contest. There is not an officer in the service of
the United States that would return to the sweets
of domestic life with more heartfelt joy than I
should, but I mean not to shrink in the cause."
In his remonstrances v/ith congress he WTote
with plainness, but with moderation. His culm dig-
nity, while it iriitated his adversaries, overawed
them ; and nothing could shake the confidence of
the people, or divide the affections of any part of
the army, or permanently distract the majority
of congress. Those who had been most ready to
cavil at him soon wished their rash words benevo-
lently interpreted or forgotten. Gates denied the
charge of being in a league to supersede Washing-
ton as a wicked, false, diabolical calumny of incen-
diaries, and would not believe that any such plot
existed ; Mifflin exonerated himself in more equiv-
ocal lano;uao:e : and both retired from the committee
that was to repair to head-quarters. In the following
July, Conway, thinking himself mortally wounded in
; a duel, wrote to Washington : " My career will soon
be over ; therefore justice and truth prompt me to
declare my last sentiments. You are in my eyes
the great and good man. May you long enjoy the
love, veneration, and esteem of these states, whose
liberties you have asserted by your virtues." The
committee which towards the end of January was
1TT8.
WINTER-QUARTERS AT VALLEr FORGE. 465
finally sent to consult with Washino-ton, was com- chap.
XXVII.
posed exclusively of members of congress, and the
majority of them, especially Charles Carroll of
Maryland, were his friends. But in the procrastina-
tion of active measures of relief, the departments
of the quartermaster and commissary remained like
clocks with so many checks that they cannot go.
Even so late as the eleventh of February, Dana,
one of the committee, reported that men died for
the want of straw or materials to raise them from
the cold, wet earth. In numerous and crowded
hospitals the sick could not be properly cared for.
Inoculation was delayed for want of straw and
other necessaries. Almost every species of camp-
transportation was performed by men, who, without
a murmur, yoked themselves to little carriages of
their own making, or loaded their fuel and provi-
sions on their backs. Some brigades had been four
days without meat. Desertions were frequent. There
was danger that the troops would perish from famine
or disperse in search of food.
All this time the British soldiers in Philadelphia
were well provided for, the officers quartered upon
the inhabitants. The days were spent in pastime,
the nights in entertainments. By a proportionate
tax on the pay and allowances of each officer, a
house was opened for daily resort and for weekly
balls, with a gaming-table which had assiduous vo-
taries, and a room devoted to the game of chess.
Thrice a week, plays were enacted by amateur per-
formers. The curtain painted by Andre was greatly
admired. The officers, among whom all ranks of
the British aristocracy were represented, lived in
466 AMERICAN INDEPENDElSrCE.
CHAP, open licentiousness. At a grand review, a beautiful
^ — Y-^ English girl, mistress of a colonel and dressed in the
colors of his regiment, drove down the line in her
open carriage with great ostentation. The pursuit
of pleasure was so eager, and Howe had on former
occasions been so frequently baffled, that an attack
in winter was not added to the trials of the army
at Valley Forge.
The troops of Burgoyne remained in the environs
of Boston. In violation of the word of honor of
the officers, much public property had been carried
off from Saratoga. As if preparing an excuse for
a total disengagement from his obligations, Bur-
goyne, complaining without reason of the quarters
provided for his officers, deliberately wrote and in-
sisted that the United States had violated the pub-
lic faith, and refused to congress descriptive lists of
the non-commissioned officers and soldiers who were
not to serve in America during the war. On these
grounds, congress suspended the embarkation of the
troops under his command till a ratification of the
convention should be notified by the court of Great
Britain to congress. Burgoyne sailed for England
on his parole.
All the while, events illustrated the greatness of
the struggle. In February, 1778, a detachment of
men from Pittsburg, descending the Ohio and Mis-
sissippi, arrived on the evening of the nineteenth at
Natchez. The next day they hoisted the flag of the
United States, and took possession of the country
in their name. The inhabitants, promising a strict
neutrality, were admitted to parole as prisoners of
war ; and the liberty and property of actual resi-
dents were respected.
WINTER-QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. 4^7
The parties of Indians which the English had let chap.
. .* . . XXVII.
loose on the frontiers roused Virginia, and Saint v^X^
Clair Clarke received from its governor the com- ^'^'^^'
mission to carry the flag of independence through
the country northwest of the Ohio to Detroit. To
counteract the arts of the British emissaries among
the Indians on the borders of Virginia and the
Carolinas, Colonel Nathaniel Gist was commissioned
to take into the public service two hundred of the
red men and fifty of the white inhabitants of the
neighboring counties. Care was taken to preserve
the friendship of the Oneidas.
The American militia of the sea were restlessly
active. In the night of the twenty-seventh of Jan-
uary, a privateer took the fort of New Providence,
made prize of a British vessel of war of sixteen
guns, which had gone in for repairs, and recaptured
^Ye American vessels. Biddle, in the " Randolph," a
United States frigate of thirty-six guns on a cruise
from Charleston, falling in with the "Yarmouth," a
British ship of sixty-four guns, hoisted the stars and
stripes, fired a broadside, and continued the engage-
ment till his ship went down.
The country w^as weak only from being without a
government. During the winter the members pres-
ent in congress were sometimes only nine, rarely
seventeen ; and of former members Franklin, Wash-
ington, Jefferson, John Rutledge, Jay, and others,
were employed elsewhere, and John Adams had
recently been elected to succeed Deane as commis-
sioner in France. The want of power explains and
excuses the continuous inefficiency of congress. It
proposed in January to borrow ten millions of dol-
468 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, lars, but it had no credit. So in January, February,
s^-> — ' and March two millions of paper money were or-
'^^' dered to be issued, and in April six and a half mil-
lions more. These emissions were rapidly followed by
corresponding depreciations. When the currency lost
its value, congress would have had the army serve
on from disinterested patriotism ; but Washington
pointed out the defect in human nature which does
not permit practical affairs to be conducted through
a succession of years by a great variety of per-
sons without regard to just claims and equitable
interests ; and after months of resistance, officers
who should serve to the end of the war w^ere
promised half-pay for seven years, privates a sum
of eighty dollars.
As enlistments failed, Washino-ton uro-ed con stress
to complete the continental battalions of all the
states except South Carolina and Georgia by drafts
from their militia ; congress, though not till the end
of February, adopted the advice, limiting the service
to nine months. The execution of the measure was
unequal, for it depended on the good-will of the
several states ; but the scattered villages paraded
their militia for the draft with sufficient regularity
to save the army from dissolution. Yarnum, a briga-
dier of Rhode Island, proposed the emancipation of
slaves in that state, on condition of their enlisting
in the army for the w\ar. The scheme, approved
by Washington, and by him referred to Cooke, the
governor of the state, was accepted. Every able-
bodied slave in Rhode Island received by law lib-
erty to enlist in the army for the war. On passing
muster he became free and entitled to all the wages
WINTER-QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. 469
and encouragements given by congress to any sol- chap.
dier. The state made some compensation to their ^^I^,^
masters. * < «o.
The powerlessness of congress admitted no effec-
tive supervision over officers of their own appoint-
ment. Unable to force a defaulting agent to a
settlement, in February they asked the legislatures
of the several states to enact laws for the recovery
of debts due to the United States ; and they invited
the supreme executive of every state to ^vatch the
behavior of all civil and military officers of the
United States in the execution of their offices.
Driven by necessity, congress won slowly a partial
victory over their pride and their fears ; and on the
second of March they elected Greene quartermaster-
general, giving him two assistants that were accept-,
able to him, and the power of appointing all other
officers in his department. After more than another
month, the same system was extended to the com-
missary department. The place of inspector-general
fell to Baron Steuben, a Prussian officer, then forty-
seven years of age, who had served during the seven
years' war, and now adopted America for his country.
The high rank which he assumed falsely but with-
out question, the good opinion of Vergennes and
Saint-Germain, the recommendation of Franklin, the
halo of having served under the great Frederic, and
his real merit, secured for him the place of a major-
general, which he claimed, and on the fifth of Febru-
ary he was welcomed to Valley Forge. Setting an
example to the officers by drilling squads of men,
he wrought a reform in the use of the musket and
in manoeuvre.
VOL. IX. 40
1 T78.
470 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. Yet there remained a deeply seated conflict of
XXVII. . . ^ *^
opinion between congress and the commander-in-
chief on questions of principle and policy. Wash-
ington would from the first have had men enlisted
for the war ; congress, from jealousy of standing
armies, had insisted upon short enlistments. Wash-
ington was anxious to exchange prisoners ; congress
bore in mind that each British prisoner would re-
sume his place in the army, while the American
prisoner, from the system of short enlistments, would
return home. Washington wished the exchange to
be conducted on one uniform rule ; congress, repeat-
edly checking Washington by sudden interference,
required a respect to the law of treason of each
separate state. Washington would have one conti-
nental army ; congress, an army of thirteen sove-
reignties. Congress was satisfied with the amount
of its power as a helpless committee ; Washington
wished a government of organized vigor. Congress
guarded separate independence ; the patriotism of
Washington took a wider range, and in return the
concentrated public affections, radiating from every
part of the United States, met in him. All this
merit and this popularity, and the undivided attach-
ment of the army, quickened the jealousy of con-
gress, and made them more sensible of their own
relative weakness. They could not have defended
themselves against the mutiny of a single regiment.
They felt that their perfect control over the general
sprung in part from his own nature, and that could
not be fully judged of before the end. Nor was it
then known that the safety of the country against
military usurpation lay in the character and circum-
WINTER-QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. 471
stances of the American people, which had life in chap.
. XXVII.
all its parts, and therefore a common life that was ^-^-^
indestructible. 1778.
To allay the jealousy which congress entertained
and some of its members labored to establish, Wash-
ington, on the twenty-first of April, wrote to one of
its delegates: "Under proper limitations it is cer-
tainly true that standing armies are dangerous to a
state. The prejudices of other countries have only
gone to them in time of peace, and from their being
hirelings. It is our policy to be prejudiced against
them in time of war, though they are citizens, having
all the ties and interests of citizens, and in most cases
property totally unconnected with the military line.
The jealousy, impolitic in the extreme, can answer
not a single good purpose. It is unjust, because
no order of men in the thirteen states has paid a
more sacred regard to the proceedings of congress
than the army ; for without arrogance or the small-
est deviation from truth it may be said, that no his-
tory now extant can furnish an instance of an army's
suffering such uncommon hardships as ours has done,
and bearing them with the same patience and for-
titude. Their submitting without a murmur is a
proof of patience and obedience which in my opin-
ion can scarce be paralleled. There may have been
some remonstrances or applications to congress in
the style of complaint from the army, and slaves
indeed should we be if this privilege were denied ;
but these will not authorize nor even excuse a
jealousy that they are therefore aiming at unrea-
sonable powers, or making strides subversive of
civil authority. There should be none of these
472 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, distinctions. We should all, congress and army, be
' — Y — ' considered as one people, embarked in one cause,
* in one interest, acting on the same principle and
to the same end." In framing an oath of fidelity
for all civil and military officers, congress, much as
it avoided the expression, made them swear that the
"people of the United States" owed no allegiance
to the king of Great Britain. The soldiers serving
nnder one common flag, to establish one common
independence, and, though in Avant of food, of shoes,
of clothes, of straw for bedding, of regular pay, of
pay in a currency of fixed value, never- suffering
their just discontent to get the better of their pa-
triotism, still more clearly foreshadowed a great na-
tionaUty. The unity of the country was formally
proclaimed in its relations to the rest of the world.
n
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE UNITED STATES AND GEORGE TUE THIRD.
1777 — 1778.
Except three fortified posts covering Newport, chap.
New York with its environs, and Philadelphia, the ^J-v-*-'
United States w^ere independent in fact, and no one ^^'^'^'
port w^as blockaded. The court of Russia desired
to shut their cruisers out of the Baltic, but confi-
dentially assured the Bourbon family that it would
not interfere, and would even be pleased to see
them throw off the yoke of England. The great
Frederic, while he closed his ports to their priva-
teers, avowed his belief that they would succeed,
wished for their success, ridiculed the English war
ministers and generals, and looked forward to a
direct commerce between his kingdom and the
new republic. Against the advice of Franklin and
a seasonable hint from the Prussian minister Schu-
lenburg that the visit would be premature, Arthur
Lee went by way of Vienna to Berlin. At Vienna
he was kept aloof by Kaunitz. In Berlin he, like
40*
474 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, every traveller, was assured of protection. Elliott,
XXVIII. .
v^^^ the British minister, at the cost of a thousand
1T7T. guineas, hired a burglar to steal his papers; but on
his complaint to the police, Elliott sent them back,
and spirited the thief out of the kingdom. Fred-
eric, who refused to see Lee, of his own free will
showed the agents of the United States friendly
respect, resolved to acknowledge their independence
as soon as it could be done without embroilino^
himself with England, and promised his influence
to prevent new treaties by England for German
troops. To this end he forbade for a time the
transit through any part of his dominions to troops
destined for America.
The crazy prince of Anhalt - Zerbst, who ruled
over but three hundred square miles with twenty
thousand inhabitants, after unceasing importunities
concluded a bargain for twelve hundred and twenty-
eight men, to be delivered at his own risk at the
: place of embarkation. Death w\as the penalty for
I the attempt to desert ; yet as these regiments
passed near the frontier of Prussia there was a
loss of three hundred and thirty- three in ten days,
and the number finally delivered was less than
half of what was promised. When the men of An-
halt-Zerbst arrived at their destination in Quebec,
the governor, having no orders to receive them,
would not suffer them to disembark till a messen-
ger could go to England and return.
To make good the loss of Hessians, the landgrave
of Ilesse-Cassel impressed men wherever he could
do so with impunity. The heartless meanness of the
Brunswick princes would pass belief if it was not
THE UNITED STATES AND GEORGE THE THIRD. 475
officially authenticated. These professed fathers of chap.
. XXVIII.
their people begged that the wretched captives of ^-v^
Saratoga might not find their way back to Bruns- ^'^'^''^'
wick, where they would disgust everybody with
the war, and spoil the traffic in soldiers by their
complaints, but be sent to the deadly climate of
the British West Indies,^ or anywhere rather than
to their own homes. The princes who first got
the trade in soldiers were jealous of competitors,
and dropped hints that the states of Wirtemberg
would never suffer a contract by their duke to be
consummated ; that Protestant England ought not
to employ Catholic troops like those of the elector
palatine ; but it was the policy of Frederic which
forced England to give over the hope of further
subsidiary treaties with German powers.
Under the German kinglings the sense of the na-
tion could not express itself freely, but German po-
litical interest centred in America. The thought of
emio-ratincr thither had crossed the mind of Goethe.
Translations of British pamphlets on the war, includ-
ing " Price upon Liberty," were printed in Brunswick.
Lessing saw wdth delight a new house of humanity
rising beyond the ocean ; Schiller, who had run the
risk of being assistant -surgeon to a regiment of
Wirtemberg mercenaries, a few years later brought
the crime of the princes upon the stage ; and Kant,
who under the shelter of Frederic sought to solve
by free analysis the unvarying laws of reason, judg-
ment, and action, drew a condemnation of the traf^
fie in soldiers as it were from the depths of eter-
nity. Had officers or men sent over to America
1 Brunswick minister to British secretary of state, 23 December, 1777;
and 23 February, 17 78.
476 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, uttered complaints, they would have been shot for
s*-Y — ^ mutiny ; but Mirabeau, then a fugitive in Holland,
1 7 T 7 . jji'^g J up the voice of the civilization of his day
against the trade, and spoke to the peoples of Ger-
many and the soldiers themselves : " What new
madness is this ? Alas, miserable men, you burn
down not the camp of an enemy, but your own
hopes ! Germans ! what brand do you suffer to be
put upon your forehead ? You war against a peo-
ple who have never wronged you, who fight for a
righteous cause, and set you the noblest pattern.
They break their chains. Imitate their example.
Have you not the same claim to honor and right
as your princes ? Yes, without doubt. Men stand
higher than princes. Of all rulers conscience is
the highest. You, peoples that are cheated, hum-
bled, and sold ! fly to America, but there embrace
your brothers. In the spacious places of refuge
w^hich they open to suffering humanity, learn the
art to be free and happy, the art to apply social
mstitutions to the advantage of every member of
society." Against this tocsin of revolution the land-
grave of Hesse defended himself on principles of
feudal law and legitimacy ; and Mirabeau rejoined :
"When power breaks the compact which secured
and limited its rights, then resistance becomes a
duty. He that fights to recover freedom, exercises
a lawful right. Insurrection becomes just. There
is no crime like the crime against the freedom of
the peoples."
When on the twentieth of November the king
of England opened the session of parliament, there
were only three systems between which the choice
THE UNITED STATES AND GEORGE THE THIRD. 477
lav. To reduce the former colonies to subordina- chap.
... . . XXVIII.
tion, the king insisted on a continuation of the war >J^~^^
without regard to the waste of life or treasure. ^'^'^'^^
Chatham, who had written a few weeks before : '^ 1
see no way of political salvation; *fuit Ilium et in-
gens gloria;' England and its mighty glory are no
more," now said : " France has insulted you, and our
ministers dare not interpose with dignity or effect.
My lords ! you cannot conquer America. In threer
campaigns we have done nothing and suffered much.
You may swell every expense, accumulate every
assistance you can buy or borrow, traffic and bar-
ter with every little pitiful German prince that sells
and sends his subjects to the shambles of a foreign
prince ; your efforts are forever vain and impotent,
doubly so from this mercenary aid on which you
rely, for it irritates to an incurable resentment. If
I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while
a foreign troop was landed in my country I never
would lay down my arms; never, never, never."
And he passed on to condemn the alliance with
"the horrible hell-hounds of savage war." His ad-
vice, freed from his rhetoric, was, to conciliate Amer-
ica by a change of ministry, and to chastise France.
The third plan, which was that of the Rockingham
party, was expressed by the Duke of Richmond:
" Lest silence should be deemed acquiescence, I
must declare I would sooner give up every claim
to America, than continue an unjust and cruel civil
war." A few days later. Lord Chatham dwelt on
the subject of Gibraltar as " the best proof of Brit-
ish naval power, and the only solid check on that
of the house of Bourbon."
478 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. Returning^ from the fjxtis^uino: debate of the sec-
XXVIII. o o
yj^^.^ ond of December on the state of the nation, Lord
*tV^' North received the news of the total loss of Bur-
Dec.
goyne's army. He was so agitated that he could
neither eat nor sleep, and the next day at the le-
vee his distress was visible to the forei^^n ministers.
He desired to make peace by giving up all the
points which had been in dispute with America, or
to retire from the ministry. Concession after de-
feat was humiliating ; but there must be prompt
action or France would interfere. In a debate of
the eleventh, the Duke of Richmond, from the im-
possibility of conquest, argued for " a peace on the
terms of independence, and such an alliance or fed-
eral union as would be for the mutual interests of
both countries." Burke in the commons was for
an agreement with the Americans at any rate ; and
Fox said : " If no better terms can be had, I would
treat with them as allies, nor do I fear the conse-
quence of their independence." It was the king
who persuaded his minister to forego the opportu-
nity which never could recur,^ and against his own
conviction, without opening to America any hope
of pacification, to adjourn the parliament to the
twentieth of January. Those who were near Lord
North in his old age never heard him murmur at
his having become blind ; " but in the solitude of
sleepless nights he would sometimes fall into very
low spirits, and deeply reproach himself for having
at the earnest desire of the king remained in ad-
ministration after he thought that peace ought to
have been made with America."
The account of Burgoyne's surrender, which was
THE UNITED STATES AND GEORGE THE THIRD. 479
broiig-lit to France by a swift - sailinor ship from CH^r;
O ^ */ . XXVIIL
Boston, threw Paris into transports of joy. None ^ — y — '
doubted the ability of the states to maintain their j^^^ *
independence. On the twelfth of December, their
commissioners had an interview with Vergennes.
"Nothing," said he, "has struck me so much as Gen-
eral Washington's attacking and giving battle to
General Howe's army. To bring troops raised within
the year to this, promises everything. The court
of France, in the treaty which is to be entered into,
intend to take no advantage of your present situa-
tion. Once made, it should be durable, and there-
fore it should contain no condition of which the
Americans may afterwards repent, but such only
as will last as long as human institutions shall
endure, so that mutual amity may subsist forever.
Entering into a treaty will be an avow^al of your
independence. Spain must be consulted, and Spain
will not be satisfied with an undetermined boun-
dary on the west. Some of the states are supposed
to run to the South sea, which might interfere with
her claim to California." It was answered that the
last treaty of peace adopted the Mississippi as a
boundary. "And what share do you intend to give
us in the fisheries ? " said Vergennes ; ^ for in the
original draught of a treaty the United States had
proposed to take to themselves Cape Breton and
the whole of the island of Newfoundland. Ex-
planations were made by the American commis-
sioners that their later instructions removed all
chances of disagreement on that subject.
The return of the courier to Spain was not waited
1 Vergennes to Montmorin, 13 December, 1777, Espagne, 693.
480 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. for. On the seventeenth, Gerard, one of the secre-
XXVIII. ' o ^r ' '
taries of Vergennes, informed Franklin and Deane,
by the king's order, that the king in council had
determined not only to acknowledge but to support
American independence. In case England should
declare war on France on account of this recogni-
tion, he would not insist that the Americans should
not make a separate peace, but only that they
should maintain their independence. The Ameri-
can commissioners answered : " We perceive and
admire the king's magnanimity and wisdom. He
will fmd us faithful and firm allies. We wish wdth
his majesty that the amity between the two na-
tions may last forever ; " and then both parties
agreed that good relations could continue between
a monarchy and a republic, between a Catholic
monarchy and a Protestant republic. The French
king promised in January three millions of livres;
as much more, it was said, would be remitted by
Spain from Havana. The vessels laden with sup-
plies for the United States should be convoyed by
a king's ship out of the channel. But when Ar-
thur Lee, who was • equally disesteemed in Versailles
and Madrid, heard of the money expected of Spain,
he talked and wrote so much about it that the Span-
ish government, which wished to avoid a rupture
with England, . took alarm, and receded from its
intention.
1T7 8. In January, 1778, Lord Amherst, as military ad-
•^*°* viser, gave the opinion that nothing less than an
additional army of forty thousand men would be
sufficient to carrv on offensive war in North Amer-
ica; but the king would not suffer Lord North to
THE UNITED STATES AND GEORGE THE THHID. 481
flinch, writingr sometimes chidino-ly that there could chap.
XXVIII.
not be " a man either bold or mad enough to pre-
sume to treat for the mother country on a basis
of independence ; " sometimes appealing to the min-
ister's " personal affection for him and sense of
honor;" and, in the event of a war with France, sug-
gesting that "it might be wise to draw the troops
from the revolted provinces, and to make war on
the French and Spanish islands." To Lord Chatham
might be offered anything but substantial power, for
" his name, which was always his greatest merit,
would greatly hurt Lord Rockingham's party." And
at court the king lavished civilities on George Gren-
ville and others who were connected with Lord
Chatham.
On the sixth of February, a treaty of amity and Feb.
commerce, and also an eventual defensive treaty of
alliance, was concluded between the king of France
and the United States. They were founded on
principles of equality and reciprocity, and for the
most part were in conformity to the proposals of
congress. In commerce each party was to be placed
on the footing of the most favored nation. The
king of F^-ance promised his good offices with the
princes and powers of Barbary. As to the fisher-
ies, each party reserved to itself the exclusive pos-
session of its own. . Following the treaty of Utrecht
as well, as that of Paris, and accepting the French
interpretation of them, the United States acknowl-
edged the right of French subjects to fish on the
banks of Newfoundland, and their exclusive right
to half the coast of that island for drying -places.
On the question of ownership in the event of the
VOL. IX. 41
-482 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, conquest of Newfoundland, the treaty was silent.
The American proposal that free ships give free-
dom to goods and to persons except to soldiers in
actual service of an enemy, w^as adopted. Careful
lists were made out of contraband merchandises,
and of those not contraband. The absolute and
unlimited independence of the United States was
described as the essential end of the defensive alli-
ance ; and the two parties mutually engaged not to
lay down their arms until it should be assured by
the treaties terminating the w^ar. Moreover, the
United States guaranteed to France the possessions
then held by France in America, as w^ell as those
which it might acquire by a future treaty of peace ;
and in like manner the king of France guaranteed
to the United States their present possessions, and
their acquisitions during the war from the domin-
ions of Great Britain in North America. A sepa-
rate and secret act reserved to the king of Spain
the powder of acceding to the treaties.
The rumor of these treaties crossed the channel ;
but they could not arrest in p^irliament the sense-
less bickerings of parties, or the favorite amuse-
ment of badgering the friends of Rockingham about
the declaratory act. On the eleventh, Hillsborough
called out to the Duke of Richmond : " In w^hat
manner does he mean that England shall crouch
to the vipers and rebels in America ? By giving
up the sacred right of taxation? or by yielding to
America w^ith respect to her absurd pretensions
about her charters ? or by declaring the thirteen
provinces independent ? " Richmond answered : " I
never liked the declaratory act ; I voted for it with
THE UNITED STATES AND GEORGE THE THIRD. 483
re2:ret to obtain the repeal of the stamp act ; I chap.
. . , XXVIII.
wish we could have done without it ; I looked upon ^!^.^^
it as a piece of waste paper that no minister would ^1'^^*
ever have the madness to revive; I will with pleas-
ure be the first to repeal it, or to give it up." In
this mood Richmond sought to act in harmony with
Chatham. On the same day, in the house of com-
mons young George Grenville attacked the admin-
istration in the harshest terms, and proposing a
change of ministry, pointed out Lord Chatham as
the proper person to treat with America. The very
sincere and glowing words of eulogy spoken by the
son of the author of the stamp-tax were pleasing
to Lord Chatham in these his last davs.
While the British government stumbled about in
the dark, Franklin placed the pubHc opinion of
philosophical France conspicuously on the side of
America. No man of that century so embodied
the idea of toleration as Voltaire ; for fame he was
unequalled among living men of letters ; for great
age he was venerable ; he, more than Louis the
Sixteenth, more than the cabinet of the king, rep-
resented France of that day ; and now he was
come up to Paris, bent with years, to receive before
his death the homage of the people. Wide indeed
was the difference between him and America. " I
have done more in my day than Luther or Calvin,"
w^as his boast ; and America, which was reverently
Protestant, and through Protestantism established
not the toleration but the equality of all churches
and opinions, did not count him among her teach-
ers. He had given out that if there was not k
God, it would be necessary to invent him ; and
484 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP America held that any god of man's invention is
> — >,' — ' an idol, that God must be worshipped in truth as
Feb. ^^^^ ^^ ^^ spirit. But for the moment America
and Voltaire were on one side ; and before he had
been a week in Paris, Franklin claimed leave to
wait upon him. We have Voltaire's own account
of the interview. Franklin bade his grandson de-
mand the benediction of the more than octogena-
rian, and in the presence of twenty persons he
gave it in these words: "God and Liberty!" Every-
where Voltaire appeared as the friend of America.
Being in company with the young wife of Lafay-
ette, he sought occasion to express to her his ad-
miration for the heroism of her husband and for
the cause which he served.
Almost simultaneously, Lord North, on the sev-
enteenth of February, made known to the house
of commons the extent of his conciliatory proposi-
tions. Of the two bills, one declared the intention
of the parliament of Great Britain not to exercise
the right of imposing taxes within the colonies of
North America, the other authorized commissioners
to be sent to the United States. In a speech of two
hours. Lord North avowed that he had never had a
policy of his own. He had never proposed any tax
on America; he had found the tea-tax imposed, and
while he declined to repeal it, he never devised
^ means to enforce it ; the commissioners would have
power to treat with congress, with provincial assem
blies, or with Washington; to order a truce; to sus-
pend all laws; to grant pardons and rewards; to
restore the form of constitution as it stood before
the troubles. "A dull, melancholy silence for some
THE UNITED STATES AND GEORGE THE THIRD. 485
time succeeded to this speech. It had been heard chap.
, XXVIH.
%vith profound attention, but without a single mark
of approbation to any part from any party or man
in the house. Astonishment, dejection, and fear
overclouded the assembly." After the house of com-
mons had given leave to bring in the bills, Hartley,
' acting on an understanding with Lord North, en-
closed copies of them to Franklin. Franklin, with
the knowledge of Vergennes, answered : " If peace,
by a treaty with America, upon equal terms, were
really desired, your commissioners need not go there
for it. Seriously, if wise and honest men, such as
Sir George Saville, the bishop of St. Asaph, and
yourself, were to come over here immediately with
powers to treat, you might not only obtain peace
with America, but prevent a war with France."
The conciliatory bills, which with slight modifica- Marclk
tions became statutes b}^ nearly unanimous consent,
confirmed the ministry in power. The king of
France deemed it required by his dignity to make
a formal declaration to Great Britain of his treaties
with the United States. British ships of wf^r had
captured many French ships, bat the ministry had
neither communicated the instructions under which
their officers acted, nor given heed to the reclama-
tions of the French government. This dictated
the form of the rescript which on the thirteenth
of March was left by the French auibassador with
the British secretary of state. It announced that
" the United States of North America are in full
possession of independence, which they had de-
clared on the fourth of July, 1776; that to consoli-
date the connection between the two nations, their
41»
486 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCR
CHAP, respective plenipotentiaries had signed a treaty of
' — r-^ friendship and commerce, but without any exclu-
M ^Oi* ^^^'^ advantages in favor of the French nation."
And it added: "The king is determined to protect
the lawful commerce of his subjects, and for that
purpose has taken measures in concert with the
United States of North America."
This declaration was held to establish a state of
war between England and France. The British
ambassador was immediately recalled from Paris,
and the recall notified to the French ambassador.
Lord North became despondent, and desired to
make way for Lord Chatham. The king on the
fifteenth answered : " I am willing to accept through
you any person that will come avowedly to the
support of your administration. On a clear ex-
planation that Lord Chatham is to step forth to
support you, I will receive him with open arms.
Having said this, I will only add, to put before
your eyes my most inmost thoughts, that no ad-
vantage to my country nor personal danger to my-
self can make me address myself to Lord Chatham,
or to any other branch of opposition. Honestly, I
would rather lose the crown I now wear, than bear
the ignominy of possessing it under their shackles.
You have now full power to act, but I don't ex-
pect Lord Chatham and his crew will come to
your assistance." Fox would have consented to
a coalition had it been agreeable to his friends.
Shelburne, on being consulted, answered instantly:
" Lord Chatham must be the dictator. I know
that Lord Chatham thinks any change insufficient
which does not comprehend a great law arrange-
THE UNITED STATES AND GEORGE THE THIRD. 487
ment and annihilate every party in the kingdom." chap.
XXVIIL
When this reply was reported to the king, he v — y--^
broke out with violence: "Lord Chatham, that per- J/^^
fidious man, as dictator! I solemnly declare that
nothing shall bring me to treat personally with
Lord Chatham. Experience makes me resolve to
run any personal risk rather than submit to a set
of men who certainly would make me a slave for
the remainder of my days."
After a night's rest, the king wrote with still
more energy : " My dear lord, no consideration in
life shall make me stoop to opposition. Whilst any
ten men in the kingdom will stand by me, I will
not give myself up into bondage. My dear lord,
I will rather risk my crown than do what I think
personally disgraceful. If the nation will not stand
by me, they shall have another king, for I never -
will put my hand to what will make me miser-
able to the last day of my life."
On the same day the king communicated to par-
liament the rescript of the French ambassador. In
the commons, Conway said : " What have we to do
but to take up the idea that Franklin has thrown
out with fairness and manliness?" Among the lords,
Kockingham advised to break the alliance between
France and the United States by acknowledging
American independence. Richmond still hoped to
avoid a war. Lord Shelburne dwelt on the great-
ness of the affront offered by France, and the im-
possibility of not resenting it. Yet Shelburne would
not listen to an overture in private from the min-
isters. " Without Lord Chatham," he said, " any new
arrangement would be inefficient; with Lord Chat-
488 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. '
CHAP, ham nothino: could be done but by an entire new
XXVIII. , . ° , . 1 , . ;: -,
^~>r^/ cabinet and a change in the chief departments of
March* ^^^^ law." On the report of this language, the king,
beside himself with anger, but fixed in his purpose,
wTote his last w^ord to Lord North: "Rather than
be shackled by these desperate men, I will see any
form of government introduced into this island^
and lose my crown rather than wear it as a dis-
grace."
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE UNITED STATES AND FRANCE.
1778.
The twentieth of March was the day appointed chap.
XXIX.
for the presentation at Versailles of the American
commissioners to the king. The world thought only
of Franklin ; but he was accompanied by his two
colleagues and by the unreceived ministers to Prus-
sia and Tuscany. These four glittered in lace and
powder ; the patriarch was dressed in the plain gala
coat of Manchester velvet which he had used at the
levee of George the Third, — the same which, ac-
cording to the custom of that age, he had worn,
as it proved for the last time in England, when
as agent of Massachusetts he had appeared before
the privy council, — with white stockings, as was
the use in England, spectacles on his nose, a round
white hat under his arm, and his thin gray hair in
its natural state. The king, without any unusual
courtesy, said to them : " I wish congress to be as-
sured of my friendship." After the ceremony they
1778.
March.
490 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, paid a visit to the young wife of Lafayette, and dined
"^--r^^ with the secretary for foreign affairs. Two days
March.' ^^^er they were introduced to the still youthful Marie
•Antoinette, who yielded willingly to generous im-
pulses in behalf of republicans, and by her sympa-
thy made the cause of America a fashion at the
French court. The king felt all the while as if he
were wronging the cause of monarchy by his ac-
knowledgment of rebels, and engaged in the Amer-
ican revolution against his own will in obedience to
the advice of Maurepas and the opinion of some mem-
ber of his cabinet on his duty to France. Personally
he was irritated, and did not disguise his vexation.
The praises lavished on Franklin by those around the
queen fretted him to peevishness, and he mocked
what seemed to him the pretentious enthusiasm of
^ the Countess Diana de Polignac by the coarsest jest.
The pique of the king was not due to any defect
in Franklin. He was a man of the best understands
ing, never disturbed by recollections or fears, with
none of the capricious anxieties of diseased minds,
or the susceptibilities of disturbed self-love. Free
from the illusions of poetic natures, he loved truth
for its own sake, and looked upon things just as
they were. As a consequence, he had no eloquence
but that of clearness. He computed that the in-
heritor of a noble title in the ninth generation
represents at most but the five hundred and twelfth
part of the ancestor ; nor was he awed by a crosier
or dazzled by a crown. He knew the moral world
to be subjected to laws like the natural world ;
in conducting affairs he remembered the necessary
relation of cause to effect, aiming only at what was
possible; and with a tranquil mind he signed the
THE UNITED STATES AND FRANCE. 491
treaty with France, just as with a tranquil eye he chap.
had contemplated the dangers of his country. In ^^^^^
regard to money he was frugal, that he might be \JJj.^
independent, and that he might be generous. He
owed good health to his exemplary temperance.
Habitually gay, employment was his resource against
weariness and sorrow, and contentment came from
his superiority to ambition, interest, or vanity.
There was about him more of moral greatness than
appeared on the surface ; and while he made no
boast of unselfish benevolence, there never lived a
man who would have met martyrdom in the course
of duty more surely or more unmoved.
The official conduct of Franklin and his inter-
course with persons of highest rank were marked
by the most delicate propriety, as well as by perfect
self-respect. His charm was simplicity, which gave
grace to his style and ease to his manners. No life-
long courtier could have been .more free from vul-
garity ; no diplomatist more true to his position as
minister of a republic ; no laborer more consistent
with his former life as a working-man ; and thus
he won respect and love from all. When a cele-
brated cause was to be heard before the parliament
of Paris, the throng which filled the house and its
approaches opened a way on his appearance, and he
passed through to the seat reserved for him amidst
the acclamations of the people. At the opera, at
the theatres, similar honors were paid him. It is
John Adams who said: "Not Leibnitz or Newton,
not Frederic or Voltaire, had a more universal repu-
tation ; and his character was more beloved and es-
teemed than that of them all." Throughout Europe,
492 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, there was scarcely a citizen or a peasant of any cul-
XXIX. . .
,.^^^ ture who was not familiar with his name, and who
1778. j3J(J jjq^ consider him as a friend to all men. At
the academy, D'Alembert addressed him as the man
who had wrenched the thunderbolt from the cloud,
the sceptre from tyrants ; and both these ideas were
of a nature to pass easily into the common mind.
From the part which he had taken in the emanci-
pation of America, imagination transfigured him as
the man who had separated the colonies from Great
Britain, had framed their best constitutions of gov-
ernment, and by counsel and example would show
how to abolish all political evil throughout the world.
Malesherbes spoke of the excellence of the institu-
tions that permitted a printer, the son of a tallow-
chandler, to act a great part in public affairs ; and
if Malesherbes reasoned so, how much more the
workmen of Paris and the people. Thus Franklin
was the venerable impersonation of democracy, yet
so calmly decorous, so free from a disposition to
quarrel with the convictions of others, that, while
he was the delight of freethinking philosophers, he
escaped the hatred of the clergy, and his presence
excited no jealousy in the old nobility, though
sometimes a woman of rank might find fault with
his hands and skin, which toil had imbrowned.
Yet he understood the movement of the French
of his day. He remarked to those in Paris who
learned of him the secret of statesmanship: "He
who shall introduce into public affairs the principles
of primitive Christianity will change the face of the
world ; " and we know from Condorcet that while
in France he said x>ne day in a public company :
THE UNITED STATES AND FRANCE. 493
'^You perceive liberty establish herself and flourish chap.
. XXIX.
almost under your very eyes ; I dare to predict that J^^-^
by and by you will be anxious to taste her bless- 17^?*
ings." In this way he conciliated the most opposite
natures ; yet not for himself Whatever favor he
met in society, whatever honor he received from
the academy, whatever respect he gained as a man
of science, whatever distinction came to him through
the good-will of the people, whatever fame he ac-
quired throughout Europe, he turned all to account
for the good of his country. Surrounded by col-
leagues some of whom envied him and for no ser-
vice whatever were greedy of the public money, he
threw their angry demands into the fire. Arthur
Lee intrigued to supplant him with the persever-
ing malignity of consuming envy ; the weak and
incompetent Izard brought against him charges
Avhich bear the strangeness of frenzy ; but he met
their hostility by patient indifference. Never de-
tracting from the merit of any one, he did not
disdain glory, and he knew how to pardon envy.
Great as were the injuries which he received in
England, he used towards that power undeviating
frankness and fairness, and never from resentment
lost an opportunity of promoting peace.
In England, Rockingham, Richmond, Burke, Fox,
Conway, respected Franklin, and desired to meet
his offers. So, too, did Lord North, though he had
not courage to be true to his convictions. On the
other side stood foremost and firmest the king, and
Chatham arrayed himself against American indepen-
dence. Richmond, as a friend to liberty, made frank April
advances to Chatham, sending him the draught of
VOL. IX. 42
494 AMERICA?^ INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, an address which he was to move in the house of
lords, and entreating of hun reunion, mutual confi-
dence, and support. Chatham rejected his overture,
and avowed the purpose of opposing his motion.
Accordingly, on Tuesday, the seventh of April, against
earnest requests, Lord Chatham, wrapped up in flan-
nel to the knees, pale and w^asted away, his eyes still
retaining their fire, came into the house of lords,
leaning upon his son William Pitt and his son-in-law
Lord Mahon. The peers stood up out of respect as
he hobbled to his bench. The Duke of Richmond
proposed and spoke elaborately in favor of an address
to the king which in substance recommended the
recognition of the independent sovereignty of the
thirteen revolted provinces and a change of admini-
stration. Chatham, who alone of British statesmen
had a right to invite America to resume her old
connection, rose from his seat with slowness and
difficulty, leaning on his crutches and supported un-
der each arm by a friend. His figure was marked
with dignity, and he seemed a being superior to
all those around him. Raising one hand from his
crutch, and casting his eyes towards heaven, he
said : " I thank God, that, old and infirm, and with
more than one foot in the grave, I have been able
to come this day to stand up in the cause of my
country, perhaps never again to enter the walls of
this house." The stillness that prevailed was most
affecting. His voice, at first low and feeble, rose
and became harmonious ; but his speech faltered,
his sentences were broken, his words no more than
flashes in the midst of darkness, shreds of sublime but
unconnected eloquence. He recalled his prophecies
THE UNITED STATES AND FRANCE. 495
of the evils which were to follow such American chap.
XXIX.
measures as had been adopted, adding at the end of
each : '* and so it proved." He could not act with
Lord Rockingham and his friends, because they per-
sisted in unretracted error. With the loftiest pride
he laughed to scorn the idea of an invasion of Eng-
land by Spain or by France or by both. " If peace
cannot be preserved with honor, why is not war
declared without hesitation? This kingdom has still
resources to maintain its just rights. Any state is
better than despair. My lords ! I rejoice that the
grave has not closed upon me, that I am still alive
to lift up my voice against the dismemberment of
this ancient and most noble monarchy." The Duke
of Richmond answered with respect for the name
of Chatham, so dear to Englishmen ; but he reso-
lutely maintained the wisdom of avoiding a war in
which France and Spain would have America for
their ally. Lord Chatham would have replied ; but,
after two or three imsuccessful efforts to rise, he fell
backwards, and seemed in the agonies ot death.
Every one of the peers pressed round him, save
only the Earl of Mansfield, who sat unmoved. The
senseless sufferer was borne from the house with
tender solicitude to the bed from which he never
was to rise.
The king in great glee wrote at once to Lord
North: "May not the political exit of Lord Chat-
ham incline you to continue at the head of my
affairs?" The world was saddened by the loss of
so great a man. The appearance of Lord Chatham
was never more beautiful than in these last months
of his public career. He came to parliament still
496 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, clad in the robes of rhetoric, with an all-impassioned
XXIX.
love of liberty, the proudest nationality, and his
old disdain of the house of Bourbon; and like a
winter's sun surrounded but not darkened by va-
pors, he set in glory amidst the sorrows of his coun-
try, which were as massive clouds about his brilliant
pathway to the grave. His eloquence in the early
part of the session seemed to some of his hearers
to surpass all that they had ever heard of the cele-
brated orators of Greece or Rome. In his last days,
forgetting that when he had been minister he had
carried his measures by a borrowed majority, he
was still dreaming of an ideal England with a par-
liament of the people ; and with a haughtiness all
the more marvellous from his age, decTcpitude, and
insulation, he confronted alone all branches of the
nobility, who. had lost a continent in the vain hope
of saving themselves a shilling in the pound of the
land-tax, and declared that there could be no good
government but under law interpreted in favor of
liberty, and an administration that should crush to
atoms the political influence of all parties of the
aristocracy. He died like a hero struck down on
the field of battle after the day was lost, still in
heart though not in place the great commoner.
With logical consistency, the house of lords refused
to attend his funeral. Who then foresaw that France,
which was looked upon as the country of despotism,
would sow the seeds of a popular revolution in
Spain, and in little more than half a century would,
by the magic influence of its example, force the
landed proprietors of England to an incipient re-
form of parliament ?
THE UNITED STATES AND FRANCE. 497
By this time the news of the French treaty with chap.
. XXIX
the United States had spread through Europe. It
was received at Saint Petersburg with very Uvely
satisfaction. In England the king, the ministry, par-
liament, the British nation, all were unwilling to
speak the word independence, wishing at least to
retain some preference by compact. France in her
treaty of commerce asked no favor, considering
equality as the only fit basis for a permanent friend-
ship. Custom, mutual confidence, sameness of lan-
guage and of civil law, the habit of using English
manufiictures, their cheapness and merit, of them-
selves secured to England almost a monopoly of
American commerce for a generation, and yet she
stickled for the formal concession of some special
commercial advantages. Deluded by the long us-
age of monopoly, she would not see that equality
was all she needed. Once more Hartley, as an in-
formal agent from Lord North, repaired to Paris to
seek of Franklin an offer of some alliance, or at
least of some favor in trade. Franklin answered
him as he answered other emissaries, that as to in-
dependence the Americans enjoyed it already, its
acknowledgment would secure to Britain equal but
not superior advantages in commerce with other
nations. Fox was satisfied with this offer; and on
the tenth, when it was moved in the house of com-
mons to enlarge the powers of the commissioners,
he held up to view that greater benefits to trade
would follow from friendly relations with independ-
ent America than from nominal dependence.
Fox was in the right, but was not heeded. Had
Chatham lived and obtained power, the course of
42*
498 AMERICAN INDEPENDEN^CE.
CHAP, events would not have been changed. Jackson, the
former colleague of Franklin and secretary of Gren-
ville, refused to be of the commission for peace, be-
cause he saw that it was a delusion accorded by
the king to quiet Lord North, and to unite the
nation against the Americans. Long before the
commissioners arrived, the United States had taken
its part. On the twenty-first of April, Washington
gave his opinion to a member of congress: "Noth-
ing short of independence can possibly do. A peace
on any other terms would be a peace of war. The
injuries we have received from the British nation
were so unprovoked, and have been so great and so
many, that they can never be forgotten. Our fidel-
ity as a people, our character as men, are opposed
to a coalition with them as subjects." Upon the
twenty-second, a day of general public fasting and
humiliation, with prayers to Almighty God to
strengthen and perpetuate the union, in their house
of worship congress resolved " to hold no confer-
ence or treaty with any commissioners on the part
of Great Britain, unless they shall, as a preliminary
thereto, either withdraw their fleets and armies, or
in positive and express terms acknowledge the
independence of the states." "Lord North is two
years too late with his political manoeuvre," re-
sponded George Clinton, then governor of New
York. Jay met not a single American "willing to
accept peace under Lord North's terms." "No of-
fers," wrote Robert Morris, "ought to have a hear-
ing of one moment unless preceded by acknowledg-
ment of our independence, because we can never
be a happy people under their domination. Great
THE UNITED STATES AND FRANCE. 499
Britain would still enjoy the (greatest share and most chap.
XXIX*
valuable parts of our trade." , .^^
Since Britain would grant no peace, on the tenth V^m'
the French king despatched from Toulon a fleet
laden with provisions for nine months and military
stores, bearing Gerard as his minister to the con-
gress of the United States, that the alliance be-
tween France and America might be riveted. On
the twenty-ninth, when, in the presence of Franklin
and his newly arrived colleague John Adams, Vol-
taire was solemnly received by the French academy,
philosophic France gave the right hand of fellowship
to America as its child by adoption. The numer-
ous assembly demanded a visible sign of the union
of the intellect of the two continents, and in the
presence of all that was most distinguished in let-
ters and philosophy, Franklin and Voltaire kissed
one another. Tt was a recognition that the war for
American independence was a war for freedom of
mind.
Many causes combined to procure the alliance of
France and the American republic ; but the force
which brought all influences harmoniously together,
overruling the timorous levity of Maurepas and the
dull reluctance of Louis the Sixteenth, was the
movement of intellectual freedom. We are arrived
at the largest generalization thus far in the history
of America.
The spirit of free inquiry penetrated the Cath-
olic world as it penetrated the Protestant world.
Each of their methods of reform recognised that
every man shares in the eternal reason, and in each
the renovation proceeded from w^ithin the soul.
600 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCR
CHAP. Luther, as he climbed on his knees the marble
— <, — • steps of a church at Rome, heard a voice within
* him cry out : "Justification is by faith alone." The
most stupendous thought that was ever conceived
by man, such as had never been dared by Socrates
or the academy, by Aristotle or the Stoics, took
possession of Descartes on a November night in his
meditations on the banks of the Danube. His own
mind separated itself from everything beside, and
in the consciousness of its own freedom stood over
against all tradition, all received opinion, all knowl-
edge, all existence except itself, thus asserting the
principle of individuality as the key-note of all com-
ing philosophy and political institutions. Nothing
was to be received by a man as truth which did
not convince his .own reason. Luther opened a
new world in which every man was his own priest,
his own intercessor; Descartes opened a new world
in which every man was his own philosopher, his
own judge of truth.
A practical difference marked the kindred systems :
the one was the method of continuity and gradual
reform ; the other of an instantaneous, complete,
and thoroughly radical revolution. The principle of
Luther waked up a superstitious world, "asleep in
lap of legends old," but did not renounce all exter-
nal authority. It used drags and anchors to check
too rapid a progress, and to secure its moorings. So
it escaped premature conflicts. By the principle of
Descartes the individual man at once and altogether
stood aloof from king, church, universities, public
opinion, traditional science, all external authority
and all other beings, and turning every intruder
THE UNITED STATES AND FRANCE. 501
out of the inner temple of the mind, kept guard at chap.
its portal to bar the entry to every belief that had s^,^
not first obtained a passport from himself No ^''^'^^
one ever applied the theory of Descartes with rigid
inflexibility ; a man can as little move without the
weight of the superincumbent atmosphere, as escape
altogether the opinions of the age in which he sees
the light; but the theory was there, and it rescued
philosophy from bondage to monkish theology, for-
bade to the church all inquisition into private opin-
ion, and gave to reason, and not to civil magistrates,
the maintenance of truth. The nations that learned
their lessons of liberty from Luther and Calvin went
forward in their natural development, and suffered
their institutions to grow and to shape themselves
according to the increasing public intelligence. The
nations that learned their lessons of liberty from
Descartes were led to question everything, and by
creative power renew society through the destruc-
tion of the past. The spirit of liberty in all Prot-
estant countries was marked by moderation. The
German Lessing, the antitype of Luther, said to
his countrymen: "Don't put out the candles till
day breaks." Out of Calvinistic Protestantism rose
in that day four great teachers of four great na-
tionalities, America, Great Britain, Germany, and
France. Edwards, Reid, Kant, and Rousseau were
all imbued with religiosity, and all except the last,
who spoiled his doctrine by dreamy indolence, were
expositors of the active powers of man. All these
in political science, Kant most- exactly of all, were
the counterpart of America, which was conducting
a revolution on the highest principles of freedom
502 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, with such circumspection that it seemed to be only
— v^ a war against innovation. On the other hand, free
*^^®' thought in France, as pure in its source as free
thought in America, became speculative and skep-
tical and impassioned. This modern Prometheus,
as it broke its chains, started up with a sentiment
of revenge against the ecclesiastical terrorism which
for centuries had sequestered the rights of mind.
Inquiry took up with zeal every question in science,
politics, and morals. Free thought paid homage to
the " majesty of nature," investigated the origin of
species, analyzed the air we breathe, pursued the
discoveries of Columbus and Copernicus, mapped the
skies, explored the oceans and measured the earth,
revived ancient learning, revelled in the philosophy
of Greece, which, untrammelled by national theol-
ogy, went forth to seek the reason of things, nursed
the republican sentiment by study of the history
of Athens and Rome, spoke words for liberty on
the stage, and adapted the round of learning to the
common understanding. Now it translated and scat-
tered abroad the writings of Americans and the new
American constitutions ; and the proud intellect of
France was in a maze, Turgot and Condorcet melted
with admiration and sympathy as they read the or-
ganic laws in which the unpretending husbandmen
of a new continent had introduced into the world
of real life the ideas that for them dwelt only in
hope. All influences that favored freedom of mind
conspired together. Anti-prelatical puritanism was
embraced by anti-puelatical skepticism. The exile
Calvin was welcomed home as he returned by way
of New England and the states where Huguenots
THE UNITED STATES AND FRANCE. 503
and Presbyterians prevailed. The lineas^e of Calvin cfiap.
. XXIX
and the lineage of Descartes met together. One ^-^r^
great current of vigorous living opinion, which ^'^'^^'
there was no po.wer in France capable of resisting,
swept through society, driving all the clouds in the
sky in one direction. Ministers and the king and
the nation were hurried along together.
The w^ave of free thought broke as it rolled
against the Pyrenees. The Bourbon of* France was
compelled into an alliance with America ; the Bour-
bon of Spain, disturbed only by the remonstrances
of De Aranda, his ambassador in Paris, was left to
pursue a strictly national policy. The Spanish
people did not share the passion and enthusiasm of
the French, for they had not had the training of the
French. In France there was no Inquisition ; in
Spain the king would have submitted his own son
to its tribunal. For the French soldier Descartes,
the emancipator of thought, Spain had the soldier
Loyola to organize repression ; for the proud Cor-
neille, so full of republican fire, Spain had the monk-
ish Calderon. There no poet like Moliere unfrocked
hypocrisy. Not only had Spain no Calvin, no Vol-
taire, no Rousseau ; she had no Pascal to mock at
casuistry ; no prelate to instruct her princes in the
rights of the people like Fenelon, or defend her
church against Rome, or teach the equality of all
men before God like Bossuet; no controversies
through the press like those with the Huguenots;
no edict of toleration like that of Nantes. A richly
endowed church always leans to Arminianism and
justification by works; and it was so in Spain, where
the spiritual instincts of man, w^hich are the life of
504 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP freedom, had been trodden under foot, and alms-
N^ — ' giving to professed mendicants usurped the place of
chanty. Natural science in its progress gently strips
from religion the follies of superstition, and purifies
and spiritualizes faith ; in Spain it was dreaded as
of kin to the Islam ; and as the material world was
driven from its rightful place among the objects
of study, it avenged itself by overlaying religion.
The idea was lost in the symbol ; to the wooden
or metal cross was imputed the worth of inward
piety; religious feeling was cherished by magnifi-
cent ceremonies to delight the senses ; penitence in
this world made atonement by using the hair shirt,
the scourge, and maceration ; the immortal soul was
thought to be purged by material flames ; the merci-
less Inquisition wrapped the cimeter of the prophet
in the folds of the gospel, kept spies over opinion
in every house by the confessional, and quelled
unbelief by the dungeon, the torture, and the stake.
Free thought was rooted out in the struggle for
homogeneousness. Nothing was left in Spain that
could tolerate Protestantism, least of all the stern
Protestantism of America; nothing congenial to
free thought, least of all to free thought as it was
in France.
France was all alive with the restless spirit of
inquiry ; the country beyond the Pyrenees was still
benumbed by superstition and priestcraft and t^^r-
anny over mind, and the church through its organi-
zation maintained a stagnant calm. As there was
no union between the French mind and the Spanish
mind, between the French people and the Spanish
people, the union of the governments was simply
THE UNITED STATES AND FRANCE. 505
the result of the family compact, which the engage- chap.
raent between France and the United States without 'J^-r--/
the assent of Spain violated and annulled. More- *''"'^®*
over, the self-love of the Catholic king was touched,
that his nephew should have formed a treaty with
America without waiting for his advice. Besides,
the independence of colonies was an example that
might divest his crow^n of its possessions in both
parts of America ; and the danger was greatly en-
hanced by the establishment of republicanism on
the borders of his transatlantic provinces, where he
dreaded it as more surely ijital than all the power
of Great Britain.
The king of France, whilst he declared his wish to
make no conquest whatever in the war, held out to
the king of Spain, with the consent of the United
States, the acquisition of Florida; but Florida head
not power to allure Charles the Third, or his minis-
try, which was a truly Spanish ministry and wished
to pursue a truly Spanish policy. There was in-
deed one word which, if pronounced, w^ould be a
spell potent enough to alter their decision, a w^ord
that calls the blood into the cheek of a Spaniard
as an insult to his pride, a brand of inferiority on
his nation. That word was Gibraltar. Meantime,
the king of Spain declared that he would not then,
nor in the future, enter into the quarrel of France
and England ; that he washed to close his life in tran-
quillity, and valued peace too highly to sacrifice it
to the interests or opinions of another.
So the tlags of France and the United States went
together into the field against Great Britain, unsup-
ported by any other government, yet with the good
VOL. IX. 43
506 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP, wishes of all the peoples of Europe. The benefit
s^-v,. — ' then conferred on the United States was priceless.
In return, the revolution in America came oppor-
tunely for France. During the last years of Louis
the Fourteenth and the reign of Louis the Fifteenth,
she lost her productive power and stumbled about
in the regions of skepticism. She* aspired to deny,
and knew only how to deny ; yet that France which
its own clergy calumniated as a nation of atheists
was the lineal successor of the France which raised
cathedrals on each side of the channel, the France
which took up the banner of the very God in-dwell-
ing in man against paganized Christianity and against
the Islam, the France which delivered free thought
from the bondage of centuries, the France which
maintained Galilean liberties against papal Rome.
For the blessing of that same France, America
brought new life and hope ; she superseded skep-
ticism by a wise and prudent enthusiasm in action,
and bade the nation that became her ally lift up its
heart from the barrenness of doubt to the highest
affirmation of God and libertv, to freedom in union
with the good, the beautiful, and the true.
,
END OF VOL. IX.
H
CQ
O
13
t3
M)
c^
o
c
til
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
LIBRARY
Acme Library Card Pocket
Under Pat. " Ref . Index File."
Made by LIBRARY BUREAU